THE  CAPTAIN'S  TOLL-GATE 


•BB 


THE 
CAPTAIN'S  TOLL-GATE 

By 

FRANK   R.  STOCKTON 

I! 

With  a  Memorial  Sketch  by 
Mrs.  Stockton 

And  a  Bibliography 
ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

D.  APPLETON  &  COMPANY 

1903 


COPYRIGHT,   1903 
BY  D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 


Published  June,  1903 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  OLIVE .        .        1 

II.  MARIA  PORT  .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        8 

III.  MRS.  BASTERFIELD          .        .        ...        .20 

IV.  THE  SON  OF  AN  OLD  SHIPMATE     ....      31 
V.  OLIVE  PAYS  TOLL   . 40 

VI.  MR.  CLAUDE  LOCKER   .    .    .    .    .    .50 

VII.  THE   CAPTAIN  AND  HIS   GUEST   GO  FISHING   AND 

COME  HOME  HAPPY  .        .        .        .        .        .59 

VIII.  CAPTAIN  ASHER  is  NOT  IN  A  GOOD  HUMOR  .        .       68 

IX.  Miss  PORT  TAKES  A  DRIVE  WITH  THE  BUTCHER  .       78 

X.  MRS.  EASTERFIELD  WRITES  A  LETTER   ...      85 

XI.  MR.  LOCKER  is  RELEASED  ON  BAIL        ...      93 

XII.  MR.  RUPERT  HEMPHILL  .        .        .        .        .        .     102 

XIII.  MR.  LANCASTER'S  BACKERS 112 

XIV.  A  LETTER  FOR  OLIVE 125 

XV.  OLIVE'S  BICYCLE  TRIP .131 

XVI.     MR.  LANCASTER  ACCEPTS  A  MISSION      .        .        .  140 

XVII.     DICK  is  NOT  A  PROMPT  BEARER  OF  NEWS    .        .  148 

XVIII.     WHAT  OLIVE  DETERMINED  TO  DO   .        .        .        .  156 

XIX.     THE  CAPTAIN  AND  DICK  LANCASTER  DESERT  THE 

TOLL-GATE        .        .        .        ...        .166 

XX.     MR.  LOCKER  DETERMINES  TO  RUSH  THE  ENEMY'S 

POSITION 176 

XXI.     Miss  RALEIGH  ENJOYS  A  RARE  PRIVILEGE    .        .  183 

V 


851891 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXII.  THE  CONFLICTING  SERENADES  ....     193 

XXIII.  THE  CAPTAIN  AND  MARIA         .        .        .        .206 

XXIV.  MR.  TOM  ARRIVES  AT  BROADSTONE  .        .        .     214 
XXV.  THE  CAPTAIN  AND  MR.  TOM     .        .        .        .227 

XXVI.  A  STOP  AT  THE  TOLL-GATE      .        .        .        .239 

XXVII.     BY  PROXY 251 

XXVIII.  HERE  WE  GO!  LOVERS  THREE!         .        ...     262 

XXIX.     Two  PIECES  OF  NEWS 275 

XXX.  BY  THE  SEA      .        .        .        .        .        .        .     281 

XXXI.     As  GOOD  AS  A  MAN 290 

XXXII.  THE  STOCK-MARKET  is  SAFE    .        .        .        .299 

XXXIII.  DICK  LANCASTER  DOES  NOT  WRITE  .        .        .307 

XXXIV.  Miss  PORT  PUTS  IN  AN  APPEARANCE        .        .315 
XXXV.     THE  DORCAS  ON  GUARD 322 

XXXVI.     COLD  TINDER 330 

XXXVII.  IN  WHICH  SOME  GREAT  CHANGES  ARE  RECORDED    337 

XXXVIII.  "!T  HAS  JUST  BEGUN!"  .                                      348 


VI 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTKATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 

Portrait  of  Frank  K  Stockton    .        .        .      Frontispiece 
Etching  by  Jacques  Reich  from  a  photograph 

The  Holt,  Mr.  Stockton's  home  near  Convent,  N.  J.       .       xii 

Claymont,  Mr.  Stockton's  home  near  Charles  Town,  West 

Virginia        .         .         .         .         .        .         .        .  xxiv 

A  corner  in  Mr.  Stockton's  study  at  Claymont        .        .  xxviii 

The  upper  terraces  of   Mr.    Stockton's  garden  at  Clay 
mont     .  xxx 


Vll 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 


As  this— The  Captain's  Toil-Gate— is  the  last  of 
the  works  of  Frank  R.  Stockton  that  will  be  given 
to  the  public,  it  is  fitting  that  it  be  accompanied 
by  some  account  of  the  man  whose  bright  spirit 
illumined  them  all.  It  is  proper,  also,  that  some 
thing  be  said  of  the  stories  themselves;  of  the  cir 
cumstances  in  which  they  were  written,  the  influ 
ences  that  determined  their  direction,  and  the  history 
of  their  evolution.  It  seems  appropriate  that  this 
should  be  done  by  the  one  who  knew  him  best;  the 
one  who  lived  with  him  through  a  long  and  beautiful 
life;  the  one  who  walked  hand  in  hand  with  him 
along  the  whole  of  a  wonderful  road  of  ever-chan 
ging  scenes :  now  through  forests  peopled  with  fairies 
and  dryads,  griffins  and  wizards;  now  skirting  the 
edges  of  an  ocean  with  its  strange  monsters  and 
remarkable  shipwrecks;  now  on  the  beaten  track  of 
European  tourists,  sharing  their  novel  adventures 
and  amused  by  their  mistakes ;  now  resting  in  lovely 

ix 


TIM:    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

gardens  imbued  with  human  interest;  now  helping 
the  young  to  make  happy  homes  for  themselves ;  now 
sympathizing  with  the  old  as  they  look  longingly 
toward  a  heavenly  home;  and,  oftenest,  perhaps, 
watching  girls  and  young  men  as  they  were  trying 
to  work  out  the  problems  of  their  lives.  All  this, 
and  much  more,  crowded  the  busy  years  until  the 
Angel  of  Death  stood  in  the  path;  and  the  journey 
was  ended. 

In  regard  to  the  present  story — The  Captain's 
Toll-Gate — although  it  is  now  after  his  death  first 
published,  it  was  all  written  and  completed  by  Mr. 
Stockton  himself.  No  other  hand  has  been  allowed 
to  add  to,  or  to  take  from  it.  Mr.  Stockton  had 
so  strong  a  feeling  upon  the  literary  ethics  involved 
in  such  matters  that  he  once  refused  to  complete  a 
book  which  a  popular  and  brilliant  author,  whose 
style  was  thought  to  resemble  his  own,  had  left  un 
finished.  Mr.  Stockton  regarded  the  proposed  act 
in  the  light  of  a  sacrilege.  The  book,  he  said,  should 
be  published  as  the  author  left  it.  Knowing  this  fact, 
readers  of  the  present  volume  may  feel  assured  that 
no  one  has  been  permitted  to  tamper  with  it.  Al 
though  the  last  book  by  Mr.  Stockton  to  be  pub 
lished,  it  is  not  the  last  that  he  wrote.  He  had 
completed  The  Captain's  Toil-Gate,  and  was  consid 
ering  its  publication,  when  he  was  asked  to  write 

x 


A  MEMORIAL  SKETCH 

another  novel  dealing  with  the  buccaneers.  He  had 
already  produced  a  book  entitled  Buccaneers  and 
Pirates  of  our  Coasts.  The  idea  of  writing  a  novel 
while  the  incidents  were  fresh  in  his  mind  pleased 
him,  and  he  put  aside  The  Captain's  Toll-Gate,  as 
the  other  book — Kate  Bonnet — was  wanted  soon,  and 
he  did  not  wish  the  two  works  to  conflict  in  pub 
lication.  Steve  Bonnet,  the  crazy-headed  pirate,  was 
a  historical  character,  and  performed  the  acts  at 
tributed  to  him.  But  the  charming  Kate,  and  her 
lover,  and  Ben  Greenaway  were  inventions. 

Francis  Richard  Stockton,  born  in  Philadelphia 
in  1834,  was,  on  his  father's  side,  of  purely  English 
ancestry;  on  his  mother's  side,  there  was  a  mixture 
of  English,  French,  and  Irish.  When  he  began  to 
write  stories  these  three  nationalities  were  combined 
in  them:  the  peculiar  kind  of  inventiveness  of  the 
French;  the  point  of  view,  and  the  humor  that  we 
find  in  the  old  English  humorists;  and  the  capacity 
of  the  Irish  for  comical  situations. 

Soon  after  arriving  in  this  country  the  eldest  son 
of  the  first  American  Stockton  settled  in  Princeton, 
N.  J.,  and  founded  that  branch  of  the  family;  while 
the  father,  with  the  other  sons,  settled  in  Burling 
ton  County,  in  the  same  State,  and  founded  the 
Burlington  branch  of  the  family,  from  which  Frank 
R.  Stockton  was  descended.  On  the  female  side  he 

xi 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

was  descended  from  the  Gardiners,  also  of  New 
Jersey.  His  was  a  family  with  literary  proclivities. 
His  father  was  widely  known  for  his  religious  wri 
tings,  mostly  of  a  polemical  character,  which  had 
a  powerful  influence  in  the  denomination  to  which 
he  belonged.  His  half-brother  (much  older  than 
Frank)  was  a  preacher  of  great  eloquence,  famous 
a  generation  „  ago  as  a  pulpit  orator. 

When  Frank  and  his  brother  John,  two  years 
younger,  came  to  the  age  to  begin  life  for  them 
selves,  they  both  showed  such  decided  artistic  genius 
that  it  was  thought  best  to  start  them  in  that  direc 
tion,  and  to  have  them  taught  engraving;  an  art 
then  held  in  high  esteem.  Frank  chose  wood,  and 
John  steel  engraving.  Both  did  good  work,  but  their 
hearts  were  not  in  it,  and,  as  soon  as  opportunity 
offered,  they  abandoned  engraving.  John  went  into 
journalism;  became  editorially  connected  with  prom 
inent  newspapers;  and  had  won  a  foremost  place  in 
his  chosen  profession;  when  he  was  cut  off  by  death 
at  a  comparatively  early  age. 

Frank  chose  literature.  He  had,  while  in  the  en 
graving  business,  written  a  number  of  fairy  tales, 
some  of  which  had  been  published  in  juvenile  maga 
zines  ;  also  a  few  short  stories,  and  quite  an  ambitious 
long  story,  which  was  published  in  a  prominent  maga 
zine.  He  was  then  sufficiently  well  known  as  a  writer 

xii 


A  MEMORIAL  SKETCH 

to  obtain  without  difficulty  a  place  on  the  staff  of 
Hearth  and  Home,  a  weekly  New  York  paper,  owned 
by  Orange  Judd,  and  conducted  by  Edward  Eggle- 
ston.  Mrs.  Mary  Mapes  Dodge  had  charge  of  the 
juvenile  department,  and  Frank  went  on  the  paper 
as  her  assistant.  Not  long  after  Scribner's  Monthly 
was  started  by  Charles  Scribner  (the  elder),  in  con 
junction  with  Roswell  Smith,  and  J.  G.  Holland. 
Later  Mr.  Smith  and  his  associates  formed  The  Cen 
tury  Company ;  and  with  this  company  Mr.  Stockton 
was  connected  for  many  years:  first  on  the  Century 
Magazine,  which  succeeded  Scribner's  Monthly,  and 
afterward  on  St.  Nicholas,  as  assistant  to  Mrs.  Mary 
Mapes  Dodge,  and,  still  later,  when  he  decided  to 
give  up  editorial  work,  as  a  constant  contributor. 
After  a  few  years  he  resigned  his  position  in  the 
company  with  which  he  had  been  so  pleasantly  asso 
ciated  in  order  to  devote  himself  exclusively  to  his 
own  work.  By  this  time  he  had  written  and  pub- 
fished  enough  to  feel  justified  in  taking,  what  seemed 
to  his  friends,  a  bold,  and  even  rash,  step,  because 
so  few  writers  then  lived  solely  by  the  pen.  He  was 
never  very  strong  physically;  he  felt  himself  unable 
to  do  his  editorial  work,  and  at  the  same  time  write 
out  the  fancies  and  stories  with  which  his  mind  was 
full.  This  venture  proved  to  be  the  wisest  thing 
for  him;  and  from  that  time  his  life  was,  in  great 

xiii 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

part,  in  his  books;  and  he  gave  to  the  world  the 
novels  and  stories  which  bear  his  name. 

I  have  mentioned  his  fairy  stories.  Having  been 
a  great  lover  of  fairy  lore  when  a  child,  he  naturally 
fell  into  this  form  of  story  writing  as  soon  as  he 
was  old  enough  to  put  a  story  together.  He  in 
vented  a  goodly  number;  and  among  them  the  Ting- 
a-Ling  stories,  which  were  read  aloud  in  a  boys'  lit 
erary  circle,  and  meeting  their  hearty  approval,  were 
subsequently  published  in  The  Riverside  Magazine, 
a  handsome  and  popular  juvenile  of  that  period; 
and,  much  later,  were  issued  by  Hurd  &  Houghton 
in  a  very  pretty  volume.  In  regard  to  these,  he 
wrote  long  afterward  as  follows: 

"  I  was  very  young  when  I  determined  to  write 
some  fairy  tales  because  my  mind  was  full  of  them. 
I  set  to  work,  and  in  course  of  time  produced  several 
which  were  printed.  These  were  constructed  accord 
ing  to  my  own  ideas.  I  caused  the  fanciful  creatures 
who  inhabited  the  world  of  fairy-land  to  act,  as  far 
as  possible  for  them  to  do  so,  as  if  they  were  in 
habitants  of  the  real  world.  I  did  not  dispense  with 
monsters  and  enchanters,  or  talking  beasts  and  birds, 
but  I  obliged  these  creatures  to  infuse  into  their  ex 
traordinary  actions  a  certain  leaven  of  common 
sense. ' ' 

It  was  about  this  time,  while  very  young,  that  he 
xiv 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 

and  his  brother  became  ambitious  to  write  stories, 
poems,  and  essays  for  the  world  at  large.  They  sent 
their  effusions  to  various  periodicals,  with  the  result 
common  to  ambitious  youths :  all  were  returned. 
They  decided  at  last  that  editors  did  not  know  a 
good  thing  when  they  saw  it,  and  hit  upon  a  bril 
liant  scheme  to  prove  their  own  judgment.  One  of 
them  selected  an  extract  from  Paradise  Regained  (as 
being  not  so  well  known  as  Paradise  Lost),  and  sent 
it  to  an  editor,  with  the  boy's  own  name  appended, 
expecting  to  have  it  returned  with  some  of  the  usual 
disparaging  remarks,  which  they  would  greatly  en 
joy.  But  they  were  disappointed.  The  editor  printed 
it  in  his  paper,  thereby  proving  that  he  did  know 
a  good  thing  if  he  did  not  know  his  Milton.  Mr. 
Stockton  was  fond  of  telling  this  story,  and  it  may 
have  given  rise  to  a  report,  extensively  circulated, 
that  he  tried  to  gain  admittance  to  periodicals  for 
many  years  before  he  succeeded.  This  is  not  true. 
Some  rebuffs  he  had,  of  course — some  with  things 
which  afterward  proved  great  successes — but  not  as 
great  a  number  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  most  beginners. 
The  Ting-a-Ling  tales  proved  so  popular  that  Mr. 
Stockton  followed  them  at  intervals  with  long  and 
short  stories  for  the  young  which  appeared  in  vari 
ous  juvenile  publications,  and  were  afterward  pub 
lished  in  book  form — Roundabout  Rambles,  Tales 

xv 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

out  of  School,  A  Jolly  Fellowship,  Personally  Con 
ducted,  The  Story  of  Viteau,  The  Floating  Prince, 
and  others.  Some  years  later,  after  he  had  begun 
to  write  for  older  readers,  he  wrote  a  series  of  stories 
for  St.  Nicholas,  ostensibly  for  children,  but  really 
intended  for  adults.  Children  liked  the  stories,  but 
the  deeper  meaning  underlying  them  all  was  be 
yond  the  grasp  of  a  child's  mind.  These  stories  Mr. 
Stockton  took  very  great  pleasure  in  writing,  and 
always  regarded  them  as  some  of  his  best  work,  and 
was  gratified  when  his  critics  wrote  of  them  in  that 
way.  They  have  become  famous,  and  have  been 
translated  into  several  languages,  notably  Old  Pipes 
and  the  Dryad,  The  Bee  Man  of  Orne,  and  The 
Griffin  and  the  Minor  Canon.  This  last  story  was 
suggested  by  Chester  Cathedral,  and  he  wrote  it  in 
that  venerable  city.  The  several  tales  were  finally 
collected  into  a  volume  under  the  title :  The  Bee  Man 
of  Orne  and  Other  Stories,  which  is  included  in 
the  complete  edition  of  his  novels  and  stories.  Dur 
ing  the  whole  of  his  literary  career  Mr.  Stockton 
was  an  occasional  contributor  of  short  stories  and 
essays  to  The  Youth's  Companion. 

Mr.  Stockton  considered  his  career  as  an  editor 
of  great  advantage  to  him  as  an  author.  In  an  auto 
biographical  paper  he  writes:  "  Long-continued  read 
ing  of  manuscripts  submitted  for  publication  which 

xvi 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 

are  almost  good  enough  to  use,  and  yet  not  quite  up 
to  the  standard  of  the  magazine,  can  not  but  be  of 
great  service  to  any  one  who  proposes  a  literary 
career.  Bad  work  shows  us  what  we  ought  to  avoid, 
but  most  of  us  know,  or  think  we  know,  what  that 
is.  Fine  literary  work  we  get  outside  the  editorial 
room.  But  the  great  mass  of  literary  material  which 
is  almost  good  enough  to  print  is  seen  only  by  the 
editorial  reader,  and  its  lesson  is  lost  upon  him  in 
a  great  degree  unless  he  is,  or  intends  to  be,  a  lit 
erary  worker. " 

The  first  house  in  which  we  set  up  our  own  house 
hold  goods  stood  in  Nutley,  N.  J.  We  had  with  us 
an  elderly  attache  of  the  Stockton  family  as  maid- 
of-all-work;  and  to  relieve  her  of  some  of  her  duties 
I  went  into  New  York,  and  procured  from  an  or 
phans'  home  a  girl  whom  Mr.  Stockton  described 
as  "  a  middle-sized  orphan."  She  was  about  four 
teen  years  old,  and  proved  to  be  a  very  peculiar  in 
dividual,  with  strong  characteristics  which  so  ap 
pealed  to  Mr.  Stockton's  sense  of  humor  that  he  liked 
to  talk  with  her  and  draw  out  her  opinions  of  things 
in  general,  and  especially  of  the  books  she  had  read. 
Her  spare  time  was  devoted  to  reading  books,  mostly 
of  the  blood-curdling  variety;  and  she  read  them 
to  herself  aloud  in  the  kitchen  in  a  very  disjointed 
fashion,  which  was  at  first  amusing,  and  then  irri- 

xvii 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

tating.  We  never  knew  her  real  name,  nor  did  the 
people  at  the  orphanage.  She  had  three  or  four 
very  romantic  ones  she  had  borrowed  from  novels 
while  she  was  with  us,  for  she  was  very  sentimental. 

Mr.  Stockton  bestowed  upon  her  the  name  of 
Pomona,  which  is  now  a  household  word  in  myriads 
of  homes.  This  extraordinary  girl,  and  some  house 
hold  experiences,  induced  Mr.  Stockton  to  write  a 
paper  for  Scribner's  Monthly  which  he  called  Rud 
der  Grange.  This  one  paper  was  all  he  intended  to 
write,  but  it  attracted  immediate  attention,  was  ex 
tensively  noticed,  and  much  talked  about.  The  edi- 
'tor  of  the  magazine  received  so  many  letters  asking 
for  another  paper  that  Mr.  Stockton  wrote  the  sec 
ond  one;  and  as  there  was  still  a  clamor  for  more, 
he,  after  a  little  time,  wrote  others  of  the  series. 
Some  time  later  they  were  collected  in  a  book.  For 
those  interested  in  Pomona  I  will  acid,  that  while 
the  girl  was  an  actual  personage,  with  all  the  char 
acteristics  given  to  her  by  her  chronicler,  the  woman 
Pomona  was  a  development  in  Mr.  Stockton's  mind 
of  the  girl  as  he  imagined  she  would  become,  for 
the  original  passed  out  of  our  lives  while  still  a 
girl. 

Rudder  Grange  was  Mr.  Stockton's  first  book  for 
adult  readers,  and  a  good  deal  of  comment  has  been 
made  upon  the  fact  that  he  had  reached  middle  life 

xviii 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 

when  it  was  published.  His  biographers  and  critics 
assume  that  he  was  utterly  unknown  at  that  time, 
and  that  he  suddenly  jumped  into  favor,  and  they 
naturally  draw  the  inference  that  he  had  until  then 
vainly  attempted  to  get  before  the  public.  This  is 
all  a  misapprehension  of  the  facts.  It  will  be  seen 
from  what  I  have  previously  stated,  that  at  this  time 
he  was  already  well  known  as  a  juvenile  writer,  and 
not  only  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  his  articles 
printed,  but  editors  and  publishers  were  asking  him 
for  stories.  He  had  made  but  few  slight  attempts  to 
obtain  a  larger  audience.  That  he  confined  himself 
for  so  long  a  time  to  juvenile  literature  can  be  easily 
accounted  for.  For  one  thing,  it  grew  out  of  his 
regular  work  of  constantly  catering  for  the  young, 
and  thinking  of  them.  Then,  again,  editorial  work 
makes  urgent  demands  upon  time  and  strength,  and 
until  freed  from  it  he  had  not  the  leisure  or  in 
clination  to  fashion  stories  for  more  exacting  and 
critical  readers.  Perhaps,  too,  he  was  slow  in  recog 
nizing  his  possibilities.  Certain  it  is  that  the  public 
were  not  slow  to  recognize  him.  He  did,  however, 
experience  difficulties  in  getting  the  collected  papers 
of  Rudder  Grange  published  in  book  form.  I  will 
quote  his  own  account,  which  is  interesting  as  showing 
how  slow  he  was  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  public 
would  gladly  accept  the  writings  of  a  humorist: 
2  xix 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

'  *  The  discovery  that  humorous  compositions  could 
be  used  in  journals  other  than  those  termed  comic 
marked  a  new  era  in  my  work.  Periodicals  espe 
cially  devoted  to  wit  and  humor  were  very  scarce 
in  those  days,  and  as  this  sort  of  writing  came  nat 
urally  to  me,  it  was  difficult,  until  the  advent  of 
Puck,  to  find  a  medium  of  publication  for  writings 
of  this  nature.  I  contributed  a  good  deal  to  this 
paper,  but  it  was  only  partly  satisfactory,  for  arti 
cles  which  make  up  a  comic  paper  must  be  terse 
and  short,  and  I  wanted  to  write  humorous  tales 
which  should  be  as  long  as  ordinary  magazine  stories. 
I  had  good  reason  for  my  opinion  of  the  gravity 
of  the  situation,  for  the  editor  of  a  prominent  maga 
zine  declined  a  humorous  story  (afterward  very 
popular)  which  I  had  sent  him,  on  the  ground  that 
the  traditions  of  magazines  forbade  the  publication 
of  stories  strictly  humorous.  Therefore,  when  I 
found  an  editor  at  last  who  actually  wished  me  to 
write  humorous  stories,  I  was  truly  rejoiced.  My 
first  venture  in  this  line  was  Rudder  Grange.  And, 
after  all,  I  had  difficulty  in  getting  the  series  pub 
lished  in  book  form.  Two  publishers  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  them,  assuring  me  that  although 
the  papers  wore  well  enough  for  a  magazine,  a  thing 
of  ephemeral  nature,  the  book-reading  public  would 
not  care  for  them.  The  third  publisher  to  whom 

xx 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 

I  applied  issued  the  work,  and  found  the  venture 
satisfactory. ' ' 

The  book-reading  public  cared  so  much  for  this 
book  that  it  would  not  remain  satisfied  with  it 
alone.  Again  and  again  it  demanded  of  the 
author  more  about  Pomona,  Euphemia,  and  Jonas. 
Hence  The  Rudder  Grangers  Abroad  and  Pomona's 
Travels. 

The  most  famous  of  Mr.  Stockton's  stories,  The 
Lady  or  the  Tiger?,  was  written  to  be  read  before 
a  literary  society  of  which  he  was  a  member.  It 
caused  such  an  interesting  discussion  in  the  society 
that  he  published  it  in  the  Century  Magazine.  It 
had  no  especial  announcement  there,  nor  was  it  her 
alded  in  any  way,  but  it  took  the  public  by  storm, 
and  surprised  both  the  editor  and  the  author.  All 
the  world  must  love  a  puzzle,  for  in  an  amazingly 
short  time  the  little  story  had  made  the  circuit  of 
the  world.  Debating  societies  everywhere  seized 
upon  it  as  a  topic ;  it  was  translated  into  nearly 
all  languages;  society  people  discussed  it  at  their 
dinners;  plainer  people  argued  it  at  their  firesides; 
numerous  letters  were  sent  to  nearly  every  period 
ical  in  the  country;  and  public  readers  were  ex 
pounding  it  to  their  audiences.  It  interested  heathen 
and  Christian  alike;  for  an  English  friend  told  Mr. 
Stockton  that  in  India  he  had  heard  a  group  of 

xxi 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Hindoo  men  gravely  debating  the  problem.  Of 
course,  a  mass  of  letters  came  pouring  in  upon  the 
author. 

A  singular  thing  about  this  story  has  been  the 
revival  of  interest  in  it  that  has  occurred  from  time 
to  time.  Although  written  many  years  ago,  it  seems 
still  to  excite  the  interest  of  a  younger  generation; 
for,  after  an  interval  of  silence  on  the  subject  of 
greater  or  less  duration,  suddenly,  without  apparent 
cause,  numerous  letters  in  relation  to  it  will  ap 
pear  on  the  author's  table,  and  "  solutions  "  will 
be  printed  in  the  newspapers.  This  ebb  and  flow 
has  continued  up  to  the  present  time.  Mr.  Stock 
ton  made  no  attempt  to  answer  the  question  he  had 
raised. 

We  both  spent  much  time  in  the  South  at  different 
periods.  The  dramatic  and  unconsciously  humorous 
side  of  the  negroes  pleased  his  fancy.  He  walked  and 
talked  with  them,  saw  them  in  their  homes,  at  their 
"  meetin's,"  and  in  the  fields.  He  has  drawn  with 
an  affectionate  hand  the  genial,  companionable 
Southern  negro  as  he  is — or  rather  as  he  was — for 
this  type  is  rapidly  passing  away.  Soon  there  will 
be  no  more  of  these  ' '  old-time  darkies. ' '  They  would 
be  by  the  world  forgot  had  they  not  been  embalmed 
in  literature  by  Mr.  Stockton,  and  the  best  Southern 
writers. 

xxii 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 

There  is  one  other  notable  characteristic  that 
should  be  referred  to  in  writing  of  Mr.  Stockton's 
stories — the  machines  and  appliances  he  invented  as 
parts  of  them.  They  are  very  numerous  and  in 
genious.  No  matter  how  extraordinary  might  be  the 
work  in  hand,  the  machine  to  accomplish  the  end 
was  made  on  strictly  scientific  principles,  to  ac 
complish  that  exact  piece  of  work.  It  would  seem 
that  if  he  had  not  been  an  inventor  of  plots  he  might 
have  been  an  inventor  of  instruments.  This  idea  is 
sustained  by  the  fact  that  he  had  been  a  wood-en 
graver  only  a  short  time  when  he  invented  and  pat 
ented  a  double  graver  which  cuts  two  parallel  lines 
at  the  same  time.  It  is  somewhat  strange  that  more 
than  one  of  these  extraordinary  machines  has  since 
been  exploited  by  scientists  and  explorers,  without 
the  least  suspicion  on  their  part  that  the  enterprising 
romancer  had  thought  of  them  first.  Notable  among 
these  may  be  named  the  idea  of  going  to  the  north 
pole  under  the  ice,  the  one  that  the  center  of  the 
earth  is  an  immense  crystal  (Great  Stone  of  Sardis), 
and  the  attempt  to  manufacture  a  gun  similar  to  the 
Peace  Compeller  in  The  Great  War  Syndicate. 

In  all  of  Mr.  Stockton's  novels  there  were  char 
acters  taken  from  real  persons  who  perhaps  would 
not  recognize  themselves  in  the  peculiar  circum 
stances  in  which  he  placed  them.  In  the  crowd  of 

xxiii 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

purely  imaginative  beings  one  could  easily  recognize 
certain  types  modified  and  altered.  In  The  Casting 
away  of  Mrs.  Leeks  and  Mrs.  Aleshine  he  intro 
duced  two  delightful  old  ladies  whom  he  knew,  and 
who  were  never  surprised  at  anything  that  might 
happen.  Whatever  emergency  arose,  they  took  it  as 
a  matter  of  course,  and  prepared  to  meet  it.  Mr. 
Stockton  amused  himself  at  their  expense  by  writing 
this  story.  He  was  not  at  first  interested  in  the 
Dusantes,  and  had  no  intention  of  ever  saying  any 
thing  further  about  them.  When  there  was  a  de 
mand  for  knowledge  of  the  Dusantes  Mr.  Stockton 
did  not  heed  it.  He  was  opposed  to  writing  sequels. 
But  when  an  author  of  distinction,  whose  work  and 
friendship  he  highly  valued,  wrote  to  him  that  if  he 
did  not  write  something  about  the  Dusantes,  and  what 
they  said  when  they  found  the  board  money  in  the 
ginger  jar,  he  would  do  it  himself,  Mr.  Stockton 
set  himself  to  writing  The  Dusantes. 

I  have  been  asked  to  give  some  account  of  the 
places  in  which  Mr.  Stockton's  stories  and  novels 
were  written,  and  their  environments.  Some  of  the 
Southern  stories  were  written  in  Virginia,  and,  now 
and  then,  a  short  story  elsewhere,  as  suggested  by 
the  locality,  but  the  most  of  his  work  was  done  under 
his  own  roof-tree.  He  loved  his  home;  it  had  to 
be  a  country  home,  and  always  had  to  have  a  gar- 

xxiv 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 

den.  In  the  care  of  a  garden  and  in  driving,  he 
found  his  two  greatest  sources  of  recreation. 

I  have  mentioned  Nutley,  which  lies  in  New 
Jersey,  near  New  York.  His  dwelling  there  was  a 
pretty  little  cottage,  where  he  had  a  garden,  some 
chickens,  and  a  cow.  This  was  his  home  in  his  edi 
torial  days,  and  here  Rudder  Grange  was  written. 
It  was  a  rented  place.  The  next  home  we  owned. 
It  stood  at  a  greater  distance  from  New  York,  at 
the  place  called  Convent,  half-way  between  Madison 
and  Morristown,  in  New  Jersey.  Here  we  lived  a 
number  of  years  after  Mr.  Stockton  gave  up  editorial 
work;  and  here  the  greater  number  of  his  tales  were 
written.  It  was  a  much  larger  place  than  we  had 
at  Nutley,  with  more  chickens,  two  cows,  and  a  much 
larger  garden. 

Mr.  Stockton  dictated  his  stories  to  a  stenogra 
pher.  His  favorite  spot  for  this  in  summer  was  a 
grove  of  large  fir-trees  near  the  house.  Here,  in 
the  warm  weather,  he  would  lie  in  a  hammock.  His 
secretary  would  be  near,  with  her  writing  materials, 
and  a  book  of  her  choosing.  The  book  was  for  her 
own  reading  while  Mr.  Stockton  was  "  thinking." 
It  annoyed  him  to  know  he  was  being  "  waited  for." 
He  would  think  out  pages  of  incidents,  and  scenes, 
and  even  whole  conversations,  before  he  began  to 
dictate.  After  all  had  been  arranged  in  his  mind 

XXV 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

he  dictated  rapidly ;  but  there  often  were  long  pauses, 
when  the  secretary  could  do  a  good  deal  of  reading. 
In  cold  weather  he  had  the  secretary  and  an  easy 
chair  in  the  study — a  room  he  had  built  according 
to  his  own  fancy.  A  fire  of  blazing  logs  added  a 
glow  to  his  fancies. 

I  may  state  here  that  we  always  spent  a  part  of 
every  winter  in  New  York.  A  certain  amount  of  city 
life  was  greatly  enjoyed.  Mr.  Stockton  thus  secured 
much  intellectual  pleasure.  He  liked  his  clubs,  and 
was  fond  of  society,  where  he  met  men  noted  in 
various  walks  of  life.1 

I  am  now  nearing  the  close  of  a  life  which  had 
had  its  trials  and  disappointments,  its  struggles  with 
weak  health  and  with  unsatisfying  labor.  But  these 
mostly  came  in  the  earlier  years,  and  wrere  met  with 
courage,  an  ever  fresh-springing  hope,  and  a  buoyant 
spirit  that  would  not  be  intimidated.  On  the  whole, 


1  Edward  Gary,  the  secretary  of  the  Century  Club,  in  the 
obituary  notice  of  Mr.  Stockton  written  by  him  for  the  club's 
annual  report,  says  of  Mr.  Stockton  as  a  member:  "  It  was  but  a 
dozen  years  ago  that  Frank  R.  Stockton  entered  the  fellowship 
of  the  Century,  in  which  he  soon  became  exceedingly  at  home, 
winning  friends  here,  as  he  won  them  all  over  the  land  and  in 
other  lands,  by  the  charm  of  his  keen  and  kindly  mind  shining 
in  all  that  he  wrote  and  said.  He  had  an  extraordinary  capacity 
for  work  and  a  rare  talent  for  diversion,  and  the  Century  was 
honored  by  his  well-earned  fame,  and  fortunate  in  its  share  in 
his  ever  fresh  and  varying  companionship." 

xxvi 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 

as  one  looks  back  through  the  long  vista,  much 
more  of  good  than  of  evil  fell  to  his  lot.  His  life 
had  been  full  of  interesting  experiences,  and  one 
of,  perhaps,  unusual  happiness.  At  the  last  there 
came  to  pass  the  fulfilment  of  a  dream  in  which 
he  had  long  indulged.  He  became  the  possessor  of 
a  beautiful  estate  containing  what  he  most  desired, 
and  with  surroundings  and  associations  dear  to  his 
heart. 

He  had  enjoyed  The  Holt,  his  New  Jersey  home, 
and  was  much  interested  in  improving  it.  His  neigh 
bors  and  friends  there  were  valued  companions.  But 
in  his  heart  there  had  always  been  a  longing  for  a 
home,  not  suburban — a  place  in  the  real  country, 
and  with  more  land.  Finally,  the  time  came  when 
he  felt  that  he  could  gratify  this  longing.  He  liked 
the  Virginia  climate,  and  decided  to  look  for  a  place 
somewhere  in  that  State,  not  far  from  the  city  of 
Washington.  After  a  rather  prolonged  search,  we 
one  day  lighted  upon  Claymont,  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley.  It  won  our  hearts,  and  ended  our  search. 
It  had  absolutely  everything  that  Mr.  Stockton  cov 
eted.  He  bought  it  at  once,  and  we  moved  into  it 
as  speedily  as  possible. 

Claymont  is  a  handsome  colonial  residence,  "  with 
all  modern  improvements  ' ' — an  unusual  combination. 
It  lies  near  the  historic  old  town  of  Charles  Town, 
xxvii 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

in  West  Virginia,  near  Harpers  Ferry.  Claymont 
is  itself  an  historic  place.  The  land  was  first  owned 
by  "  the  Father  of  his  Country."  This  great  per 
sonage  designed  the  house,  with  its  main  building, 
two  cottages  (or  lodges),  and  courtyards,  for  his 
nephew  Bushrod,  to  whom  he  had  given  the  land. 
Through  the  wooded  park  runs  the  old  road,  now 
grass  grown,  over  which  Braddock  marched  to  his 
celebrated  "  defeat,"  guided  by  the  youthful  George 
Washington,  who  had  surveyed  the  whole  region  for 
Lord  Fairfax.  During  the  civil  war  the  place  twice 
escaped  destruction  because  it  had  once  been  the 
property  of  Washington. 

But  it  was  not  for  its  historical  associations,  but 
for  the  place  itself,  that  Mr.  Stockton  purchased  it. 
From  the  main  road  to  the  house  there  is  a  drive 
of  three-quarters  of  a  mile  through  a  park  of  great 
forest-trees  and  picturesque  groups  of  rocks.  On 
the  opposite  side  of  the  house  extends  a  wide,  open 
lawn ;  and  here,  and  from  the  piazzas,  a  noble  view  of 
the  valley  and  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  is  obtained. 
Besides  the  park  and  other  grounds,  there  is  a  farm 
at  Claymont  of  considerable  size.  Mr.  Stockton,  how 
ever,  never  cared  for  farming,  except  in  so  far  as  it 
enabled  him  to  have  horses  and  stock.  But  his  soul 
delighted  in  the  big,  old  terraced  garden  of  his  West 
Virginia  home.  Compared  with  other  gardens  he  had 
xxviii 


EH 
fc 

O      s 

£     £ 

51 


o    a 

H      cs 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 

had,  the  new  one  was  like  paradise  to  the  common 
world.  At  Claymont  several  short  stories  were 
written.  John  Gayther's  Garden  was  prepared  for 
publication  here  by  connecting  stories  previously 
published  into  a  series,  told  in  a  garden,  and  sug 
gested  by  the  one  at  Claymont.  John  Gayther, 
however,  was  an  invention.  Kate  Bonnet  and  The 
Captain's  Toll-Gate  were  both  written  at  Clay 
mont. 

Mr.  Stockton  was  permitted  to  enjoy  this  beauti 
ful  place  only  three  years.  They  were  years  of  such 
rare  pleasure,  however,  that  we  can  rejoice  that  he 
had  so  much  joy  crowded  into  so  short  a  space  of 
his  life,  and  that  he  had  it  at  its  close.  Truly  life 
was  never  sweeter  to  him  than  at  its  end,  and  the 
world  was  never  brighter  to  him  than  when  he  shut 
his  eyes  upon  it.  He  was  returning  from  a  winter 
in  New  York  to  his  beloved  Claymont,  in  good  health, 
and  full  of  plans  for  the  summer  and  for  his  gar 
den,  when  he  was  taken  suddenly  ill  in  Washington, 
and  died  three  days  later,  on  April  20,  1902,  .a  few 
weeks  after  Kate  Bonnet  was  published  in  book  form. 

Mr.  Stockton  passed  away  at  a  ripe  age — sixty- 
eight  years.  And  yet  his  death  was  a  surprise  to 
us  all.  He  had  never  been  in  better  health,  appar 
ently;  his  brain  was  as  active  as  ever;  life  was  dear 
to  him ;  he  seemed  much  younger  than  he  was.  He 

xxix 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

had  no  wish  to  give  up  his  work;  no  thought  of 
old  age;  no  mental  decay.  His  last  novels,  his  last 
short  stories,  showed  no  falling  off.  They  were  the 
equals  of  those  written  in  younger  years.  Nor  had 
he  lost  the  public  interest.  He  was  always  sure  of 
an  audience,  and  his  work  commanded  a  higher  price 
at  the  last  than  ever  before.  His  was  truly  a  passing 
away.  He  gently  glided  from  the  homes  he  had  loved 
to  prepare  here  to  one  already  prepared  for  him  in 
heaven,  unconscious  that  he  was  entering  one  more 
beautiful  than  even  he  had  ever  imagined. 

Mr.  Stockton  was  the  most  lovable  of  men.  He 
shed  happiness  all  around  him,  not  from  conscious 
effort  but  out  of  his  own  bountiful  and  loving  na 
ture.  His  tender  heart  sympathized  with  the  sad 
and  unfortunate,  but  he  never  allowed  sadness  to  be 
near,  if  it  were  possible  to  prevent  it.  He  hated 
mourning  and  gloom.  They  seemed  to  paralyze  him 
mentally  until  his  bright  spirit  had  again  asserted 
itself,  and  he  had  recovered  his  balance.  He  usually 
looked  either  upon  the  best,  or  the  humorous  side  of 
life.  He  won  the  love  of  every  one  \vho  knew  him 
— even  that  of  readers  who  did  not  know  him  per 
sonally,  as  many  letters  testify.  To  his  friends  his 
loss  is  irreparable,  for  never  again  will  they  find 
his  equal  in  such  charming  qualities  of  head  and 
heart. 

xxx 


A    MEMORIAL    SKETCH 

This  is  not  the  place  for  a  critical  estimate  of  the 
work  of  Frank  R.  Stockton.1  His  stories  are,  in 
great  part,  a  reflex  of  himself.  The  bright  outlook 
on  life;  the  courageous  spirit;  the  helpfulness;  the 
sense  of  the  comic  rather  than  the  tragic;  the  love 
of  domestic  life;  the  sweetness  of  pure  affection; 
live  in  his  books  as  they  lived  in  himself.  He  had 
not  the  heart  to  make  his  stories  end  unhappily. 
He  knew  that  there  is  much  of  the  tragic  in  human 

1  I  may,  however,  properly  quote  from  the  sketch  prepared 
by  Mr:  Gary  for  the  Century  Club:  "He  brought  to  his  later 
work  the  discipline  of  long  and  rather  tedious  labor,  with  the 
capital  amassed  by  acute  observation,  on  which  his  original  im 
agination  wrought  the  sparkling  miracles  that  we  know.  He  has 
been  called  the  representative  American  humorist.  He  was  that 
in  the  sense  that  the  characters  he  created  had  much  of  the  au 
dacity  of  the  American  spirit,  the  thirst  for  adventures  in  untried 
fields  of  thought  and  action,  the  subconscious  seriousness  in  the 
most  incongruous  situations,  the  feeling  of  being  at  home  no 
matter  what  happens.  But  how  amazingly  he  mingled  a  broad 
philosophy  with  his  fun,  a  philosophy  not  less  wise  and  com 
prehending  than  his  fun  was  compelling!  If  his  humor  was 
American,  it  was  also  cosmopolitan,  and  had  its  laughing  way 
not  merely  with  our  British  kinsmen,  but  with  alien  peoples 
across  the  usually  impenetrable  barrier  of  translation.  The  for 
tune  of  his  jesting  lay  not  in  his  ears,  but  in  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers.  It  was  at  once  appealing  and  revealing.  It  flashed  its 
playful  light  into  the  nooks  and  corners  of  our  own  being,  and 
wove  close  bonds  with  those  at  whom  we  laughed.  There  was  no 
bitterness  in  it.  He  was  neither  satirist  nor  preacher,  nor  of  set 
purpose  a  teacher,  though  it  must  be  a  dull  reader  that  does  not 
gather  from  his  books  the  lesson  of  the  value  of  a  gentle  heart 
and  a  clear,  level  outlook  upon  our  perplexing  world." 

xxxi 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

lives,  but  he  chose  to  ignore  it  as  far  as  possible, 
and  to  walk  in  the  pleasant  ways  which  are  numer 
ous  in  this  tangled  world.  There  is  much  philosophy 
underlying  a  good  deal  that  he  wrote,  but  it  has  to 
be  looked  for;  it  is  not  insistent,  and  is  never  mor 
bid.  He  could  not  write  an  impure  word,  or  ex 
press  an  impure  thought,  for  he  belonged  to  the 
"  pure  in  heart,"  who,  we  are  assured,  "  shall  see 
God." 

MARIAN  E.  STOCKTON. 

CLAYMONT,  May  15,  1903. 


xxxn 


THE   CAPTAIN'S  TOLL-GATE 


CHAPTER    I 

Olive 

A  LONG,  wide,  and  smoothly  macadamized  road 
stretched  itself  from  the  considerable  town  of  Glen- 
ford  onward  and  northward  toward  a  gap  in  the  dis 
tant  mountains.  It  did  not  run  through  a  level  coun 
try,  but  rose  and  fell  as  if  it  had  been  a  line  of  sea 
weed  upon  the  long  swells  of  the  ocean.  Upon  elevated 
points  upon  this  road,  farm  lands  and  forests  could  be 
seen  extending  in  every  direction.  But  there  was  noth 
ing  in  the  landscape  which  impressed  itself  more  ob 
trusively  upon  the  attention  of  the  traveler  than  the 
road  itself.  White  in  the  bright  sunlight  and  gray 
under  the  shadows  of  the  clouds,  it  was  the  one  thing 
to  be  seen  which  seemed  to  have  a  decided  purpose. 
Northward  or  southward,  toward  the  gap  in  the  long 
line  of  mountains  or  toward  the  wood-encircled  town 
in  the  valley,  it  was  always  going  somewhere. 

About  two  miles  from  the  town,  and  at  the  top  of 
the  first  long  hill  which  was  climbed  by  the  road,  a 
tall  white  pole  projected  upward  against  the  sky,  some 
times  perpendicularly,  and  sometimes  inclined  at  a 
slight  angle.  This  was  a  turnpike  gate  or  bar,  and 
gave  notice  to  all  in  vehicles  or  on  horses  that  the  use 

1 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

of  tliis  well-kept  road  was  not  free  to  the  traveling  pub 
lic.  At  the  approach  of  persons  not  known,  or  too 
well  known,  the  bar  would  slowly  descend  across  the 
road,  as  if  it  were  a  musket  held  horizontally  while  a 
sentinel  demanded  the  password. 

Upon  the  side  of  the  road  opposite  to  the  great  post 
on  which  the  toll-gate  moved,  was  a  little  house  with  a 
covered  doorway,  from  which  toll  could  be  collected 
without  exposing  the  collector  to  sun  or  rain.  This 
tollhouse  was  not  a  plain  whitewashed  shed,  such  as  is 
often  seen  upon  turnpike  roads,  but  a  neat  edifice, 
containing  a  comfortable  room.  On  one  side  of  it  was 
a  small  porch,  well  shaded  by  vines,  furnished  with  a 
settle  and  two  armchairs,  while  over  all  a  large  maple 
stretched  its  protecting  branches.  Back  of  the  toll 
house  was  a  neatly  fenced  garden,  well  filled  with  old- 
fashioned  flowers;  and,  still  farther  on,  a  good-sized 
house,  from  which  a  box-bordered  path  led  through  the 
garden  to  the  tollhouse. 

It  was  a  remark  that  had  been  made  frequently, 
both  by  strangers  and  residents  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  obvious  disad 
vantages  of  a  toll-gate,  this  house  and  garden,  with  its 
grounds  and  fields,  would  be  a  good  enough  home  for 
anybody.  When  he  happened  to  hear  this  remark 
Captain  John  Asher,  who  kept  the  toll-gate,  was  wont 
to  say  that  it  was  a  good  enough  home  for  him,  even 
with  the  toll-gate,  and  its  obvious  disadvantages. 

It  was  on  a  morning  in  early  summer,  when  the 
garden  had  grown  to  be  so  red  and  white  and  yellow 
in  its  flowers,  and  so  green  in  its  leaves  and  stalks, 
that  the  box  which  edged  the  path  was  beginning  to  be 

2 


OLIVE 

unnoticed,  that  a  girl  sat  in  a  small  arbor  standing  on 
a  slight  elevation  at  one  side  of  the  garden,  and  from 
which  a  view  could  be  had  both  up  and  down  the  road. 
She  was  rather  a  slim  girl,  though  tall  enough;  her 
hair  was  dark,  her  eyes  were  blue,  and  she  sat  on  the 
back  of  a  rustic  bench  with  her  feet  resting  upon  the 
seat;  this  position  she  had  taken  that  she  might  the 
better  view  the  road. 

With  both  her  hands  this  girl  held  a  small  telescope 
which  she  was  endeavoring  to  fix  upon  a  black  spot  a 
mile  or  more  away  upon  the  road.  It  was  difficult  for 
her  to  hold  the  telescope  steadily  enough  to  keep  the 
object-glass  upon  the  black  spot,  and  she  had  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  in  the  matter  of  focusing,  pulling  out 
and  pushing  in  the  smaller  cylinder  in  a  manner  which 
showed  that  she  was  not  accustomed  to  the  use  of  this 
optical  instrument. 

"  Field-glasses  are  ever  so  much  better,"  she  said 
to  herself;  "  you  can  screw  them  to  any  point  you 
want.  But  now  I  've  got  it.  It  is  very  near  that  cross 
road.  Good !  it  did  not  turn  there ;  it  is  coming  along 
the  pike,  and  there  will  be  toll  to  pay.  One  horse, 
seven  cents." 

She  put  down  the  telescope  as  if  to  rest  her  arm 
and  eye.  Presently,  however,  she  raised  the  glass 
again.  "  Now,  let  us  see,"  she  said,  "  Uncle  John? 
Jane?  or  me?  "  After  directing  the  glass  to  a  point 
in  the  air  about  two  hundred  feet  above  the  approach 
ing  vehicle,  and  then  to  another  point  half  a  mile  to  the 
right  of  it,  she  was  fortunate  enough  to  catch  sight  of 
it  again.  "  I  don't  know  that  queer-looking  horse," 
she  said.  "  It  must  be  some  stranger,  and  Jane  will 
3  3 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

do.  No,  a  little  boy  is  driving.  Strangers  coming 
along  this  road  would  not  be  driven  by  little  boys.  I 
expect  I  shall  have  to  call  Uncle  John."  Then  she 
put  down  the  glass  and  rubbed  her  eye,  after  which, 
with  unassisted  vision,  she  gazed  along  the  road.  ' '  I 
can  see  a  great  deal  better  without  that  old  thing," 
she  continued.  "  There's  a  woman  in  that  carriage. 
I'll  go  myself."  With  this  she  jumped  down  from 
the  rustic  seat,  and  with  the  telescope  under  her 
arm,  she  skipped  through  the  garden  to  the  little 
tollhouse. 

The  name  of  this  girl  was  Olive  Asher.  Captain 
John  Asher,  who  took  the  toll,  was  her  uncle,  and  she 
had  now  been  living  with  him  for  about  six  weeks. 
Olive  was  what  is  known  in  certain  social  circles  as  a 
navy  girl.  About  twenty  years  before  she  had  come 
to  her  uncle's  she  had  been  born  in  Genoa,  her  father 
at  the  time  being  a  lieutenant  on  an  American  war- 
vessel  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Villa  Franca.  Her  first 
schooldays  were  passed  in  the  south  of  France,  and  she 
spent  some  subsequent  years  in  a  German  school  in 
Dresden.  Here  she  was  supposed  to  have  finished  her 
education  but  when  her  father's  ship  was  stationed  on 
our  Pacific  coast  and  Olive  and  her  mother  went  to  San 
Francisco  they  associated  a  great  deal  with  army  peo 
ple,  and  here  the  girl  learned  so  much  more  of  real  life 
and  her  own  country  people  that  the  few  years  she 
spent  in  the  far  West  seemed  like  a  post-graduate 
course,  as  important  to  her  true  education  as  any  of 
the  years  she  had  spent  in  schools. 

After  the  death  of  her  mother,  when  Olive  was 
about  eighteen,  the  girl  had  lived  with  relatives,  East 

4 


OLIVE 

and  West,  hoping  for  the  day  when  her  father's  three 
years'  cruise  would  terminate,  and  she  could  go  and 
make  a  home  for  him  in  some  pleasant  spot  on  shore. 
Now,  in  the  course  of  these  family  visits  she  had  come 
to  stay  with  her  father's  brother,  John  Asher,  who 
kept  the  toll-gate  on  the  Glenford  pike. 

Captain  John  Asher  was  an  older  man  than  his 
brother,  the  naval  officer,  but  he  was  in  the  prime  of 
life,  and  able  to  hold  the  command  of  a  ship  if  he  had 
cared  to  do  it.  But  having  been  in  the  merchant  serv 
ice  for  a  long  time,  and  having  made  some  money,  he 
had  determined  to  leave  the  sea  and  to  settle  on  shore ; 
and,  finding  this  commodious  house  by  the  toll-gate, 
he  settled  there.  There  were  some  people  who  said 
that  he  had  taken  the  position  of  toll-gate  keeper  be 
cause  of  the  house,  and  there  were  others  who  believed 
that  he  had  bought  the  house  on  account  of  the  toll- 
gate.  But  no  matter  what  people  thought  or  said,  the 
good  captain  was  very  well  satisfied  with  his  home  and 
his  official  position.  He  liked  to  meet  with  people,  and 
he  preferred  that  they  should  come  to  him  rather  than 
that  he  should  go  to  them.  He  was  interested  in  most 
things  that  were  going  on  in  his  neighborhood,  and 
therefore  he  liked  to  talk  to  the  people  who  were  going 
by.  Sometimes  a  good  talking  acquaintance  or  an  in 
teresting  traveler  would  tie  his  horse  under  the  shade 
of  the  maple-tree  and  sit  a  while  with  the  captain  on 
the  little  porch.  Certain  it  was,  it  was  the  most  hos 
pitable  toll-gate  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

There  was  a  road  which  branched  off  from  the 
turnpike,  about  a  mile  from  the  town,  and  which,  after 
some  windings,  entered  the  pike  again  beyond  the  toll- 

5 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

gate,  and  although  this  road  was  not  always  in  very 
good  condition,  it  had  seen  a  good  deal  of  travel,  which, 
in  time,  gave  it  the  name  of  the  slmnpike.  But  since 
Captain  Asher  had  lived  at  the  toll-gate  it  was  re 
marked  that  the  shunpike  wras  not  used  as  much  as  in 
former  times.  There  were  penurious  people  who  had 
once  preferred  to  go  a  long  way  round  and  save  money 
whose  economical  dispositions  now  gave  way  before  the 
combined  attractions  of  a  better  road,  and  a  chat  with 
Captain  Asher. 

It  had  been  predicted  by  some  of  her  relatives  that 
Olive  would  not  be  content  with  her  life  in  her  uncle's 
somewhat  peculiar  household.  He  was  a  bachelor, 
and  seldom  entertained  company,  and  his  ordinary 
family  consisted  of  an  elderly  housekeeper  and  another 
servant.  But  Olive  was  not  in  the  least  dissatisfied. 
From  her  infancy  up,  she  had  lived  so  much  among 
people  that  she  had  grown  tired  of  them;  and  her 
good-natured  uncle,  with  his  sea  stories,  the  garden,  the 
old-fashioned  house,  the  fields  and  the  woods  beyond, 
the  little  stream,  which  came  hurrying  down  from  the 
mountains,  where  she  could  fish  or  wade  as  the  fancy 
pleased  her,  gave  her  a  taste  of  some  of  the  joys  of 
girlhood  which  she  had  not  known  when  she  was  really 
a  girl. 

Another  thing  that  greatly  interested  her  was  the 
toll-gate.  If  she  had  been  allowed  to  do  so,  she  would 
have  spent  the  greater  part  of  her  time  taking  money, 
making  change,  and  talking  to  travelers.  But  this  her 
uncle  would  not  permit.  He  did  not  object  to  her  do 
ing  some  occasional  toll-gate  work,  and  he  did  not  won 
der  that  she  liked  it,  remembering  how  interesting  it 

6 


OLIVE 

often  was  to  himself,  but  he  would  not  let  her  take  toll 
indiscriminately. 

So  they  made  a  regular  arrangement  about  it. 
When  the  captain  was  at  his  meals,  or  shaving,  or 
otherwise  occupied,  old  Jane  attended  to  the  toll-gate. 
At  ordinary  times,  and  when  any  of  his  special  friends 
were  seen  approaching,  the  captain  collected  toll  him 
self,  but  when  women  happened  to  be  traveling  on  the 
road,  then  it  was  arranged  that  Olive  should  go  to  the 
gate. 

Two  or  three  times  it  had  happened  that  some 
young  men  of  the  town,  hearing  their  sisters  talk  of  the 
pretty  girl  who  had  taken  their  toll,  had  thought  it 
might  be  a  pleasant  thing  to  drive  out  on  the  pike,  but 
their  money  had  always  been  taken  by  the  captain,  or 
else  by  the  wooden-faced  Jane,  and  nothing  had  come 
of  their  little  adventures. 

The  garden  hedge  which  ran  alongside  the  road  was 
very  high. 


CHAPTER    II 

Maria  Port 

OLIVE  stood  impatiently  at  the  door  of  the  little  toll 
house.  In  one  hand  she  held  three  copper  cents,  be 
cause  she  felt  almost  sure  that  the  person  approaching 
would  give  her  a  dime  or  two  five-cent  pieces. 

'  I  never  knew  horses  to  travel  so  slowly  as 
they  do  on  this  pike!  "  she  said  to  herself.  "  How 
they  used  to  gallop  on  those  beautiful,  roads  in 
France!  " 

In  due  course  of  time  the  vehicle  approached  near 
enough  to  the  toll-gate  for  Olive  to  take  an  observation 
of  its  occupant.  This  was  a  middle-aged  woman, 
dressed  in  black,  holding  a  black  fan.  She  wore  a 
black  bonnet  with  a  little  bit  of  red  in  it.  Her  face  was 
small  and  pale,  its  texture  and  color  suggesting  a  boiled 
apple  dumpling.  She  had  small  eyes  of  which  it  can 
be  said  that  they  were  of  a  different  color  from  her 
face,  and  were  therefore  noticeable.  Her  lips  were 
not  prominent,  and  were  closely  pressed  together  as  if 
some  one  had  begun  to  cut  a  dumpling,  but  had  stopped 
after  making  one  incision. 

This  somewhat  somber  person  leaned  forward  in 
the  seat  behind  her  young  driver,  and  steadily  stared  at 
Olive.  When  the  horse  had  passed  the  toll-bar  the 

8 


MARIA    PORT 

boy  stopped  it  so  that  his  passenger  and  Olive  were 
face  to  face  and  very  near  each  other. 

* '  Seven  cents,  please, ' '  said  Olive. 

The  cleft  in  the  dumpling  enlarged  itself,  and  the 
woman  spoke.  * '  Bless  my  soul, ' '  she  said,  ' '  are  you 
Captain  Asher's  niece?  ': 

' '  I  am, ' '  said  Olive  in  surprise. 

"  Well,  well,"  said  the  other,  "  that  just  beats  me ! 
When  I  heard  he  had  his  niece  with  him  I  thought  she 
was  a  plain  girl,  with  short  frocks  and  her  hair  plaited 
down  her  back. ' ' 

Olive  did  not  like  this  woman.  It  is  wonderful 
how  quickly  likes  and  dislikes  may  be  generated. 

"  But  you  see  I  am  not,"  she  replied.  "Seven 
cents,  please." 

"  Don't  you  suppose  I  know  what  the  toll  is?  " 
said  the  woman  in  the  carriage.  *  I  'm  sure  I  've  trav 
eled  over  this  road  often  enough  to  know  that.  But 
what  I'm  thinkin'  about  is  the  difference  between 
what  I  thought  the  captain's  niece  was  and  what  she 
really  is." 

"  It  does  not  make  any  difference  what  the  differ 
ence  is, ' '  said  Olive,  speaking  quickly  and  with  perhaps 
a  little  sharpness  in  her  voice,  "  all  I  want  is  for  you  to 
pay  me  the  toll." 

"  I  'm  not  goin '  to  pay  any  toll, ' '  said  the  other. 

Olive 's  face  flushed.  ' l  Little  boy, ' '  she  exclaimed, 
' '  back  that  horse !  ' '  As  the  youngster  obeyed  her 
peremptory  request  Olive  gave  a  quick  jerk  to  a  rope 
and  brought  down  the  toll-gate  bar  so  that  it  stretched 
itself  across  the  road,  barely  missing  in  its  downward 
sweep  the  nose  of  the  unoffending  horse.  "  Now," 

9 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

said  Olive, ' '  if  you  are  ready  to  pay  your  toll  you  can 
go  through  this  gate,  and  if  you  are  not,  you  can  turn 
round  and  go  back  where  you  came  from. ' ' 

"I'm  not  goin'  to  pay  any  toll,"  said  the  other, 
"  and  I  don't  want  to  go  through  the  gate.  I  came 
to  see  Captain  Asher. — Johnny,  turn  your  horse  a  lit 
tle  and  let  me  get  out.  Then  you  can  stop  in  the  shade 
of  this  tree  and  wait  until  I'm  ready  to  go  back. — I 
suppose  the  captain's  in,"  she  said  to  Olive,  "  but  if  he 
isn  't,  I  can  wait. ' ' 

"Oh,  he's  at  home,"  said  Olive,  "and,  of  course,  if 
I  had  known  you  were  coming  to  see  him,  I  would  not 
have  asked  you  for  your  toll.  This  way,  please, ' '  and 
she  stepped  toward  a  gate  in  the  garden  hedge. 

' '  When  I  've  been  here  before, ' '  said  the  visitor,  *  *  I 
always  went  through  the  tollhouse.  But  I  suppose 
things  is  different  now. ' ' 

*  This  is  the  entrance  for  visitors,"  said  Olive, 
holding  open  the  gate. 

Captain  Asher  had  heard  the  voices,  and  had  come 
out  to  his  front  door.  He  shook  hands  with  the  new 
comer,  and  then  turned  to  Olive,  who  was  following 
her. 

"  This  is  my  niece,  my  brother  Alfred's  daughter," 
he  said,  "  and  Olive,  let  me  introduce  you  to  Miss 
Maria  Port." 

"  She  introduced  herself  to  me,"  said  Miss  Port, 
"  and  tried  to  get  seven  cents  out  of  me  by  letting 
down  the  bar  so  that  it  nearly  broke  my  horse 's  nose. 
But  we'll  get  to  know  each  other  better.  She's  very 
different  from  what  I  thought  she  was." 

"  Most  people  are,"  said  Captain  Asher,  as  he  of- 
10 


MARIA    PORT 

fered  a  chair  to  Miss  Port  in  his  parlor,  and  sat  down 
opposite  to  her.  Olive,  who  did  not  care  to  hear  her 
self  discussed,  quietly  passed  out  of  the  room. 

"  Captain,"  said  Miss  Port,  leaning  forward, 
' t  how  old  is  she,  anyway  ?  ' : 

*  *  About  twenty, ' '  was  the  answer. 

' '  And  how  long  is  she  going  to  stay  ?  ' ' 

' l  All  summer,  I  hope, ' '  said  Captain  John. 

"Well,  she  won't  do  it,  I  can  tell  you  that,"  re 
marked  Miss  Port.  "  She'll  get  tired  enough  of  this 
place  before  the  summer's  out." 

' '  We  shall  see  about  that, ' '  said  the  captain,  ' '  but 
she  is  not  tired  yet. ' ' 

"  And  her  mother's  dead,  and  she's  wearin'  no 
mournin'." 

' '  Why  should  she  ?  ' '  said  the  captain.  ' '  It  would 
be  a  shame  for  a  young  girl  like  her  to  be  wearing  black 
for  two  years. ' ' 

"  She's  delicate,  ain't  she?  " 

* '  I  have  not  seen  any  signs  of  it. ' ' 

"  What  did  her  mother  die  of  ?  " 

:'  I  never  heard,"  said  the  captain;  "  perhaps  it 
was  the  bubonic  plague. ' ' 

Miss  Port  pushed  back  her  chair  and  drew  her 
skirts  about  her. 

' '  Horrible !  ' '  she  exclaimed.  ' '  And  you  let  that 
child  come  here !  ' : 

The  captain  smiled.  ' i  Perhaps  it  wasn  't  that, ' '  he 
said.  ' '  It  might  have  been  an  avalanche,  and  that  is 
not  catching. ' ' 

Miss  Port  looked  at  him  seriously.  "  It's  a  great 
pity  she's  so  handsome,"  she  said. 

11 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"I  don't  think  so;  I  am  glad  of  it,"  replied  the 
captain. 

Miss  Port  heaved  a  sigh.  ' '  What  that  girl  is  goiu ' 
to  need,"  she  said,  "  is  a  female  guardeen." 

"  Would  you  like  to  take  the  place?  "  asked  the 
captain  with  a  grin. 

At  that  instant  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  a 
certain  dumpling  which  has  been  mentioned  was  made 
of  very  red  apples  and  that  its  covering  of  dough  was 
somewhat  thin  in  certain  places.  Miss  Port's  eyes 
were  bent  for  an  instant  upon  the  floor. 

' '  That  is  a  thing, ' '  she  said,  *  *  which  would  need  a 
great  deal  of  consideration." 

A  sudden  thrill  ran  through  the  captain  which  was 
not  unlike  a  moment  in  his  past  career  when  a  gentle 
shudder  had  run  through  his  ship  as  its  keel  grazed 
an  unsuspected  sand-bar,  and  he  had  not  known 
whether  it  was  going  to  stick  fast  or  not ;  but  he  quickly 
got  himself  into  deep  water  again. 

"  Oh,  she  is  all  right,"  said  he  briskly;  "  she  has 
been  used  to  taking  care  of  herself  almost  ever  since  she 
was  born.  And  by  the  way,  Miss  Port,  did  you  know 
that  Mr.  Easterfield  is  at  his  home  ?  " 

Miss  Port  was  not  pleased  with  the  sudden  change 
in  the  conversation,  and  she  remembered,  too,  that  in 
other  days  it  had  been  the  captain's  habit  to  call  her 
Maria. 

"  I  did  not  know  he  had  a  home,"  she  answered. 
' '  I  thought  it  was  her 'n.  But  since  you've  mentioned 
it,  I  might  as  well  say  that  it  was  about  him  I  came  to 
see  you.  I  heard  that  he  came  to  town  yesterday,  and 
that  her  carriage  met  him  at  the  station,  and  drove  him 

12 


MARIA    PORT 

out  to  her  house.  I  hoped  he  had  stopped  a  minute  as 
he  drove  through  your  toll-gate,  and  that  you  might 
have  had  a  word  with  him,  or  at  least  a  good  look  at 
him.  Mercy  me !  "  she  suddenly  ejaculated,  as  a  look 
of  genuine  disappointment  spread  over  her  face;  "  I 
forgot.  The  coachman  would  have  paid  the  toll  as  he 
went  to  town,  and  there  was  no  need  of  stoppin'  as  they 
went  back.  I  might  have  saved  myself  this  trip. ' ' 

The  captain  laughed.  "  It  stands  to  reason  that 
it  might  have  been  that  way, ' '  he  said,  *  *  but  it  wasn  't. 
He  stopped,  and  I  talked  to  him  for  about  five  min 
utes." 

The  face  of  Miss  Port  now  grew  radiant,  and  she 
pulled  her  chair  nearer  to  Captain  Asher.  "  Tell 
me,"  said  she,  "  is  he  really  anybody?  " 

' '  He  is  a  good  deal  of  a  body, ' '  answered  the  cap 
tain.  ' '  I  should  say  he  is  pretty  nearly  six  feet  high, 
and  of  considerable  bigness. ' ' 

"  Well!  "  exclaimed  Miss  Port,  "I'd  thought  he 
was  a  little  dried-up  sort  of  a  mummy  man  that  you 
might  hang  up  on  a  nail  and  be  sure  you'd  find  him 
when  you  got  back.  Did  he  talk  ?  ' : 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  the  captain,  "  he  talked  a  good 
deal." 

"  And  what  did  he  tell  you?  " 

' '  He  did  not  tell  me  anything,  but  he  asked  a  lot  of 
questions. ' ' 

"  What  about?  "  said  Miss  Port  quickly. 

"  Everything.  Fishing,  gunning,  crops,  weather, 
people." 

* '  Well,  well !  ' '  she  exclaimed.  ' '  And  don 't  you 
suppose  his  wife  could  have  told  him  all  that,  and  she 's 

13 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

been  livin'  here — this  is  the  second  summer.     Did  he 
say  how  long  he 's  goin '  to  stay  ?  ' : 

"No." 

' '  And  you  didn  't  ask  him  ?  ' ' 
'  I  told  you  he  asked  the  questions,"  replied  the 
captain. 

*  *  Well,  I  wish  I  'd  been  here, ' '  Miss  Port  remarked 
fervently.  "  I  'd  got  something  out  of  him. ' ' 

"  No  doubt  of  that,"  thought  the  captain,  but  he 
did  not  say  so. 

"  If  he  expects  to  pass  himself  off  as  just  a  common 
man, ' '  continued  Miss  Port, '  *  that 's  goin '  to  spend  the 
rest  of  his  summer  here  with  his  family,  he  can 't  do  it. 
He's  first  got  to  explain  why  he  never  came  near  that 
young  woman  and  her  two  babies  for  the  whole  of  last 
summer,  and,  so  far  as  I've  heard,  he  was  never  men 
tioned  by  her.  I  think,  Captain  Asher,  that  for  the 
sake  of  the  neighborhood,  if  you  don't  care  about 
such  things  yourself,  you  might  have  made  use  of 
this  opportunity.  As  far  as  I  know,  you're  the 
only  person  in  or  about  Glenford  that's  spoke  to 
him." 

The  captain  smiled.  "  Sometimes,  I  suppose," 
said  he,  "  I  don't  say  enough,  and  sometimes  I  say  too 
much,  but — 

"  Then  I  wish  he'd  struck  you  more  on  an  aver 
age,"  interrupted  Miss  Port.  "  But  there's  no  use 
talkin'  any  more  about  it.  I  hired  a  horse  and  a  car 
riage  and  a  boy  to  come  out  here  this  mornin'  to  ask 
you  about  that  man.  And  what's  come  of  it?  You 
haven't  got  a  single  thing  to  tell  anybody  except  that 
he's  big." 

14 


MARIA    PORT 

The  captain  changed  the  subject  again.  ' '  How  is 
your  father  ?  "  he  asked. 

' '  Pop 's  just  the  same  as  he  always  is, ' '  was  the  an 
swer.  "  And  now,  as  I  don't  want  to  lose  the  whole 
of  the  seventy-five  cents  I've  got  to  pay,  suppose  you 
call  in  that  niece  of  yours,  and  let  me  have  a  talk  with 
her.  Perhaps  I  can  get  something  interesting  out  of 
her." 

The  captain  left  the  room,  but  he  did  not  move  with 
alacrity.  He  found  Olive  with  a  book  in  a  hammock 
at  the  back  of  the  house.  When  he  told  her  his  errand 
she  sat  up  with  a  sudden  bounce,  her  feet  upon  the 
ground. 

"  Uncle,"  she  said,  "  isn't  that  woman  a  horrid 
person?  " 

The  captain  was  a  merry-minded  man,  and  he 
laughed.  "  It  is  pretty  hard  for  me  to  answer  that 
question, ' '  said  he ;  "  suppose  you  go  in  and  find  out 
for  yourself." 

Olive  hesitated ;  she  was  a  girl  who  had  a  very  high 
opinion  of  herself  and  a  very  low  opinion  of  such  a 
person  as  this  Miss  Port  seemed  to  be.  Why  should  she 
go  in  and  talk  to  her?  Still  undecided,  she  left  the 
hammock  and  made  a  few  steps  toward  the  house. 
Then,  with  a  sudden  exclamation,  she  stopped  and 
dropped  her  book. 

' '  Buggy  coming, ' '  she  exclaimed,  ' '  and  that  thing 
is  running  to  take  the  toll !  ' :  With  these  words  she 
started  away  with  the  speed  of  a  colt. 

An  approaching  buggy  was  on  the  road;  Miss 
Maria  Port,  walking  rapidly,  had  nearly  reached  the 
back  door  of  the  tollhouse  when  Olive  swept  by  her 

15 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

so  closely  that  the  wind  of  her  fluttering  garments  al 
most  blew  away  the  breath  of  the  elder  woman. 

: '  Seven  cents !  ' '  cried  Olive,  standing  in  the  cov 
ered  doorway,  but  she  might  have  saved  herself  the 
trouble  of  repeating  this  formula,  for  the  man  in  the 
buggy  was  not  near  enough  to  hear  her. 

When  Olive  saw  it  was  a  man,  she  turned,  and  per 
ceiving  her  uncle  approaching  the  tollhouse,  she  hur 
ried  by  him  up  the  garden  path,  looking  neither  to  the 
right  nor  to  the  left. 

1 '  A  pretty  girl  that  is  of  yours !  ' '  exclaimed  Miss 
Port.  "  She  might  just  as  well  have  slapped  me  in 
the  face!  " 

'  But  what  were  you  going  to  do  in  here  1  ' '  asked 
Captain  Asher.  "  You  know  that's  against  the 
rules. " 

' '  The  rules  be  bothered, ' '  replied  the  irate  Maria. 
"  I  thought  it  was  Mr.  Smiley.  He's  been  away  from 
his  parish  for  a  week,  and  there  are  a  good  many 
things  I  want  to  ask  him." 

' '  Well,  it  is  the  Roman  Catholic  priest  from  Mar- 
linsville,"  said  Captain  Asher,  "  and  he  wouldn't  tell 
you  anything  if  you  asked  him. ' ' 

The  captain  had  a  cheerful  little  chat  with  the 
priest,  who  was  one  of  his  most  valued  road  friends; 
and  when  he  returned  to  his  garden  he  found  Miss 
Port  walking  up  and  down  the  main  path  in  a  state 
of  agitation. 

"  I  should  think,"  said  she,  "  that  the  company 
would  have  something  to  say  about  your  takin'  up 
your  time  talkin'  to  people  on  the  road.  I've  heard 
that  sometimes  they  get  out,  and  spend  hours  talkin' 

16 


MARIA    PORT 

and  smokin'  with  you.  I  guess  that's  against  the 
rules." 

"  It  is  all  right  between  the  company  and  me," 
replied  the  captain.  "  You  know  I  am  a  stockholder 
in  a  small  way. ' ' 

"  You  are!  "  exclaimed  Miss  Port.  "  Well,  I've 
got  somethin'  by  comin'  here,  anyway."  Stowing 
away  this  bit  of  information  in  regard  to  the  captain 's 
resources  in  her  mind  for  future  consideration,  she 
continued:  "  I  don't  think  much  of  that  niece  of 
your'n.  lias  she  never  lived  anywhere  where  the  peo 
ple  had  good  manners'?  >: 

Olive,  who  had  gone  to  her  room  in  order  to  be 
out  of  the  way  of  this  queer  visitor,  now  sat  by  an 
upper  window,  and  it  was  impossible  that  she  should 
fail  to  hear  this  remark,  made  by  Miss  Port  in  her 
most  querulous  tones.  Olive  immediately  left  the  win 
dow,  and  sat  down  on  the  other  side  of  the  room. 

"  Good  manners!  "  she  ejaculated,  and  fell  to 
thinking.  Her  present  situation  had  suddenly  pre 
sented  itself  to  her  in  a  very  different  light  from  that 
in  which  she  had  previously  regarded  it.  She  was  liv 
ing  in  a  very  plain  house  in  a  very  plain  way,  with  a 
very  plain  uncle  who  kept  a  tollhouse;  but  she  liked 
him;  and,  until  this  moment,  she  had  liked  the  life. 
But  now  she  asked  herself  if  it  were  possible  for  her 
longer  to  endure  it  if  she  wrere  to  be  condemned  to  in 
tercourse  with  people  like  that  thing  down  in  the  gar 
den.  If  her  uncle 's  other  friends  in  Glerif  ord  were  of 
that  grade  she  could  not  stay  here.  She  smiled  in  spite 
of  her  irritation  as  she  thought  of  the  woman 's  words 
— "  Anywhere  where  the  people  had  good  manners." 

17 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Good  manners,  indeed !  She  remembered  the  titled 
young  officers  in  Germany  with  whom  she  had  talked 
and  danced  when  she  was  but  seventeen  years  old, 
and  who  used  to  send  her  flowers.  She  remembered 
the  people  of  rank  in  the  army  and  navy  and  in  the 
state  who  used  to  invite  her  mother  and  herself  to 
their  houses.  She  remembered  the  royal  prince  who 
had  wished  to  be  presented  to  her,  and  whose  acquaint 
ance  she  had  declined  because  she  did  not  like  what 
she  had  heard  of  him.  She  remembered  the  good 
friends  of  her  father  in  Europe  and  America,  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  the  army  and  navy.  She  remem 
bered  the  society  in  which  she  had  mingled  when  living 
with  her  Boston  aunt  during  the  past  winter.  Then 
she  thought  of  Miss  Port's  question.  Good  manners, 
indeed ! 

"  Well,"  said  the  perturbed  Maria,  after  having 
been  informed  by  the  captain  that  his  niece  was  ac 
customed  to  move  in  the  best  circles,  * '  I  don 't  want  to 
go  into  the  house  again,  for  if  I  was  to  meet  her,  I'm 
sure  I  couldn't  keep  my  temper.  But  I'll  say  this  to 
you,  Captain  Asher,  that  I  pity  the  woman  that 's  her 
guardeen.  And  now,  if  you'll  help  my  boy  turn 
round  so  he  won't  upset  the  carriage,  I'll  be  goin'. 
But  before  I  go  I'll  just  say  this,  that  if  you'd  been 
in  the  habit  of  takin'  advantage  of  the  chances  that 
come  to  you,  I  believe  that  you  'd  be  a  good  deal  better 
off  than  you  are  now,  even  if  you  do  own  shares  in  the 
turnpike  company." 

It  was  not  difficult  for  the  captain  to  recognize  some 
of  the  chances  to  which  she  alluded ;  one  of  them  she 
herself  had  offered  him  several  times. 

18 


MARIA    PORT 

:t  Oh,  I  am  very  well  off  as  I  am,"  he  answered, 
'  but  perhaps  some  day  I  may  have  something  to  tell 
you  of  the  Easterfields  and  about  their  doings  up  on 
the  mountain." 

"  About  her  doin's,  you  might  as  well  say,"  re 
torted  Miss  Port.  "  No  matter  what  you  tell  me,  I 
don't  believe  a  word  about  his  ever  doin'  anything." 
With  this  she  walked  to  the  little  phaeton,  into  which 
the  captain  helped  her. 

"  Uncle  John,"  said  Olive,  a  few  minutes  later, 
"  are  there  many  people  like  that  in  Glenford?  ': 

"  My  dear  child,"  said  the  captain,  "  the  people 
in  Glenford,  the  most  of  them,  I  mean,  are  just  as 
nice  people  as  you  would  want  to  meet.  They  are 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  they  are  mighty  good  com 
pany.  They  don't  often  come  out  here,  to  be  sure, 
but  I  know  most  of  them,  and  I  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  myself  that  I  have  not  made  you  acquainted  with 
them  before  this.  As  to  Maria  Port,  there  is  only  one 
of  her  in  Glenford,  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  there  isn't 
another  just  like  her  in  the  whole  world.  Now  I  come 
to  think  of  it,"  he  continued,  "  I  wonder  why  some 
of  the  young  people  have  not  come  out  to  call  on 
you.  But  if  that  Maria  Port  has  been  going  around 
telling  them  that  you  are  a  little  girl  in  short  frocks 
it  is  not  so  surprising. ' ' 

"  Oh,  don't  bother  yourself,  Uncle  John,  about 
calls  and  society, ' '  said  Olive.  ' '  If  you  can  only  man 
age  that  that  woman  takes  the  shunpike  whenever  she 
drives  this  way,  I  shall  be  perfectly  satisfied  with 
everything  just  as  it  is. ' ' 


19 


CHAPTER    III 
Mrs.  Easter-field 

Ox  the  side  of  the  mountain,  a  few  miles  to  the 
west  of  the  gap  to  which  the  turnpike  stretched  itself, 
there  was  a  large  estate  and  a  large  house  which  had 
once  belonged  to  the  Sudley  family.  For  a  hundred 
years  or  more  the  Sudleys  had  been  important  people 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  but  it  had  been  at  least 
two  decades  since  any  of  them  had  lived  on  this  estate. 
Some  of  them  had  gone  to  cities  and  towns,  and  others 
had  married,  or  in  some  other  fashion  had  melted  away 
so  that  their  old  home  knew  them  no  more. 

Although  it  was  situated  on  the  borders  of  the 
Southern  country,  the  house,  which  was  known  as 
Broadstone,  from  the  fact  that  a  great  flat  rock  on 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  turf  extended  itself  for 
many  feet  at  the  front  of  the  principal  entrance,  was 
not  constructed  after  ordinary  Southern  fashions. 
Some  of  the  early  Sudleys  were  of  English  blood  and 
proclivities,  and  so  it  was  partly  like  an  English 
house ;  some  of  them  had  taken  Continental  ideas  into 
the  family,  and  there  was  a  certain  solidity  about  the 
walls ;  while  here  and  there  the  narrowness  of  the 
windows  suggested  southern  Europe.  Some  parts  of 
the  great  stone  walls  had  been  stuccoed,  and  some  had 

20 


MRS.    EASTERFIELD 

been  whitewashed.  Here  and  there  vines  climbed  up 
the  walls  and  stretched  themselves  under  the  eaves. 
As  the  house  stood  on  a  wide  bluff,  there  was  a  lawn 
from  which  one  could  see  over  the  tree  tops  the  wind 
ing  river  sparkling  far  below.  There  were  gardens 
and  fields  on  the  open  slopes,  and  beyond  these  the 
forests  rose  to  the  top  of  the  mountains. 

The  ceilings  of  the  house  were  high,  and  the  halls 
and  rooms  were  wide  and  airy ;  the  trees  on  the  edge 
of  the  woods  seemed  always  to  be  rustling  in  a  wind 
from  one  direction  or  another,  and  a  lady;  Mrs. 
Easter  field ;  who  several  years  before  had  been  travel 
ing  in  that  part  of  the  country ;  declared  that  Broad- 
stone  was  the  most  delightful  place  for  a  summer  resi 
dence  that  she  had  ever  seen,  either  in  this  country  or 
across  the  ocean.  So,  with  the  consent  and  money  of 
her  husband,  she  had  bought  the  estate  the  summer 
before  the  time  of  our  story,  and  had  gone  there  to 
live. 

Mr.  Easterfield  was  what  is  known  as  a  railroad 
man,  and  held  high  office  in  many  companies  and  or 
ganizations.  When  his  wife  first  went  to  Broadstone 
he  was  obliged  to  spend  the  summer  in  Europe,  and 
had  agreed  with  her  that  the  estate  on  the  mountains 
would  be  the  best  place  for  her  and  the  two  little  girls 
while  he  was  away.  This  state  of  affairs  had  occa 
sioned  a  good  deal  of  talk,  especially  in  Glenford,  a 
town  with  which  the  Easterfields  had  but  little  to  do, 
and  which  therefore  had  theorized  much  in  order  to  ex 
plain  to  its  own  satisfaction  the  conduct  of  a  com 
paratively  young  married  woman  who  was  evidently 
rich  enough  to  spend  her  summers  at  any  of  the  most 

21 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

fashionable  watering-places,  but  who  chose  to  go  with 
her  young  family  to  that  old  barracks  of  a  house,  and 
who  had  a  husband  who  never  came  near  her  or  his 
children,  and  who,  so  far  as  the  Glenf ord  people  knew, 
she  never  mentioned. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Easterfield  was  a  very  fine  woman, 
both  to  look  at  and  to  talk  to,  but  she  did  not  believe 
that  her  duty  to  her  fellow-beings  demanded  that  she 
should  devote  her  first  summer  months  at  her  new 
place  to  the  gratification  of  the  eyes  and  ears  of  her 
friends  and  acquaintances,  so  she  had  gone  to  Broad- 
stone  with  her  family — all  females — with  servants 
enough,  and  for  the  whole  of  the  summer  they  had  all 
been  very  happy. 

But  this  summer  things  were  going  to  be  a  little 
different  at  Broadstone,  for  Mrs.  Easterfield  had  ar 
ranged  for  some  house  parties.  Her  husband  was  very 
kind  and  considerate  about  her  plans,  and  promised 
her  that  he  would  make  one  of  the  good  company 
at  Broadstone  whenever  it  was  possible  for  him  to 
do  so. 

So  now  it  happened  that  he  had  come  to  see  his 
wife  and  children  and  the  house  in  which  they  lived ; 
and,  having  had  some  business  at  a  railroad  center  in 
the  South,  he  had  come  through  Glenf  ord,  which  was 
unusual,  as  the  intercourse  between  Broadstone  and 
the  great  world  was  generally  maintained  through  the 
gap  in  the  mountains. 

With  his  wife  by  his  side  and  a  little  girl  on  each 
shoulder,  Mr.  Tom  Easterfield  walked  through  the 
grounds  and  the  gardens  and  out  on  the  lawn,  and 
looked  down  over  the  tops  of  the  trees  upon  the  river 

22 


MRS.    EASTERFIELD 

which  sparkled  far  below,  and  he  said  to  his  wife  that 
if  she  would  let  him  do  it  he  would  send  a  landscape- 
gardener,  with  a  great  company  of  Italians,  and  they 
would  make  the  place  a  perfect  paradise  in  about  five 
days. 

"  It  could  be  ruined  a  great  deal  quicker  by  an 
army  of  locusts,"  she  said,  "  and  so,  if  you  do  not 
mind,  I  think  I  will  wait  for  the  locusts. ' ' 

It  was  not  time  yet  for  any  of  the  members  of  the 
house  parties  to  make  their  appearance,  and  it  was  the 
general  desire  of  his  family  that  Mr.  Easterfield  should 
remain  until  some  of  the  visitors  arrived,  but  he  could 
not  gratify  them.  Three  days  after  his  arrival  he  was 
obliged  to  be  in  Atlanta ;  and  so,  soon  after  breakfast 
one  fine  morning,  the  Easterfield  carriage  drove  over 
the  turnpike  to  the  Glenford  station,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Easterfield  on  the  back  seat,  and  the  two  little  girls 
sitting  opposite,  their  feet  sticking  out  straight  in 
front  of  them. 

When  they  stopped  at  the  toll-gate  Captain  Asher 
came  down  to  collect  the  toll — ten  cents  for  two  horses 
and  a  carriage.  Olive  was  sitting  in  the  little  arbor, 
reading.  She  had  noticed  the  approaching  equipage 
and  saw  that  there  was  a  lady  in  it,  but  for  some  rea 
son  or  other  she  was  not  so  anxious  as  she  had  been 
to  collect  toll  from  ladies.  If  she  could  have  arranged 
the  matter  to  suit  herself  she  would  have  taken  toll 
from  the  male  travelers,  and  her  Uncle  John  might  at 
tend  to  the  women ;  she  did  not  believe  that  men  would 
have  such  absurd  ideas  about  people  or  ask  ridiculous 
questions. 

There  was  no  conversation  at  the  gate  on  this  oc- 
23 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

casion,  for  the  carriage  was  a  little  late,  but  as  it  rolled 
on  Mrs.  Margaret  said  to  Mr.  Tom : 

'  It  seems  to  me  as  though  I  have  just  had  a 
glimpse  of  Dresden.  What  do  you  suppose  could  have 
suggested  that  city  to  me  ?  ' : 

Mr.  Tom  could  not  imagine,  unless  it  was  the  dust. 
She  laughed,  and  said  that  he  had  dust  and  ballast  and 
railroads  on  the  brain ;  and  when  the  oldest  little  girl 
asked  what  that  meant,  Mrs.  Margaret  told  her  that  the 
next  time  her  father  came  home  she  would  make  him 
sit  down  on  the  floor  and  then  she  would  draw  on  that 
great  bald  spot  of  his  head,  which  they  had  so  often 
noticed,  a  map  of  the  railroad  lines  in  which  he  was 
concerned,  and  then  his  daughters  would  understand 
why  he  was  always  thinking  of  railroad-tracks  and  that 
sort  of  thing  with  the  inside  of  his  head,  which,  as  she 
had  told  them,  was  that  part  of  a  person  with  which 
he  did  his  thinking. 

"  Don't  they  sell  some  sort  of  annual  or  monthly 
tickets  for  this  turnpike  ?  ' '  asked  Mr.  Tom.  ' '  If  they 
do,  you  would  save  yourself  the  trouble  of  stopping  to 
pay  toll  and  make  change. ' ' 

"  I  so  seldom  use  this  road,"  she  said,  "  that  it 
would  not  be  worth  while.  One  does  not  stop  on  re 
turning,  you  know. ' ' 

But  notwithstanding  this  speech,  when  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  returned  from  the  Glenford  station,  one  little  girl 
sitting  beside  her  and  the  other  one  opposite,  both  of 
them  with  their  feet  sticking  out,  she  ordered  her 
coachman  to  stop  when  he  reached  the  toll-gate. 

Olive  was  still  sitting  in  the  arbor,  reading.  The 
captain  was  not  visible,  and  the  wooden-faced  Jane, 

24 


MRS.    EASTERFIELD 

noticing  that  the  travelers  were  a  lady  and  two  little 
girls,  did  not  consider  that  she  had  any  right  to  in 
terfere  with  Miss  Olive 's  prerogatives ;  so  that  young 
lady  felt  obliged  to  go  to  the  toll-gate  to  see  what  was 
wanted. 

"  You  know  you  do  not  have  to  pay  going  back," 
she  said. 

"  I  know  that,"  answered  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  but  I 
want  to  ask  about  tickets  or  monthly  payments  of  toll, 
or  whatever  your  arrangements  are  for  that  sort  of 
thing." 

'  *  I  really  do  not  know, ' '  said  Olive,  * '  but  I  will  go 
and  ask  about  it." 

"  But  stop  one  minute,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easter- 
field,  leaning  over  the  side  of  the  carriage.  "Is  it 
your  father  who  keeps  this  toll-gate  1  ' ; 

For  some  reason  or  other  which  she  could  not  have 
explained  to  herself,  Olive  felt  that  it  was  incumbent 
upon  her  to  assert  herself,  arid  she  answered :  ' '  Oh,  no, 
indeed.  My  father  is  Lieutenant-Commander  Alfred 
Asher,  of  the  cruiser  Hopatcong. ' ' 

Without  another  word  Mrs.  Easterfield  pushed  open 
the  door  of  the  carriage  and  stepped  to  the  ground,  ex 
claiming:  "As  I  passed  this  morning  I  knew  there  was 
something  about  this  place  that  brought  back  to  my 
mind  old  times  and  old  friends,  and  now  I  see  what  it 
was ;  it  was  you.  I  caught  but  one  glimpse  of  you  and 
I  did  not  know  you.  But  it  was  enough.  I  knew  your 
father  very  well  when  I  was  a  girl,  and  later  I  was 
with  him  and  your  mother  in  Dresden.  You  were  a 
girl  of  twelve  or  thirteen,  going  to  school,  and  I  never 
saw  much  of  you.  But  it  is  either  your  father  or  your 

25 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

mother  that  I  saw  in  your  face  as  you  sat  in  that  arbor, 
and  I  knew  the  face,  although  I  did  not  know  who 
owned  it.  I  am  Mrs.  Easterneld,  but  that  will  not  help 
you  to  know  me,  for  I  was  not  married  when  I  knew 
your  father. ' ' 

Olive's  eyes  sparkled  as  she  took  the  two  hands 
extended  to  her.  "  I  don't  remember  you  at  all," 
she  said,  "  but  if  you  are  the  friend  of  my  father 
and  mother — 

"  Then  I  am  to  be  your  friend,  isn't  it?  "  inter 
rupted  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

"  I  hope  so,"  answered  Olive. 

' '  Now,  then, ' '  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  ' '  I  want  you 
to  tell  me  how  in  the  world  you  come  to  be  here. ' ' 

There  were  two  stools  in  the  tollhouse,  and  Olive, 
having  invited  her  visitor  to  seat  herself  on  the  better 
one,  took  the  other,  and  told  Mrs.  Easterneld  how 
she  happened  to  be  there. 

"And  that  handsome  elderly  man  who  took  the  toll 
this  morning  is  your  uncle  ?  ' : 

"  Yes,  my  father's  only  brother,"  said  Olive. 

"  A  good  deal  older,"  said  Mrs.  Easterneld. 

' '  Oh,  yes,  but  I  do  not  know  how  much. ' ' 

"  And  you  call  him  captain.  Was  he  also  in  the 
navy?  " 

'  No,"  said  Olive,  "  he  was  in  the  merchant  serv 
ice,  and  has  retired.  It  seems  queer  that  he  should 
be  keeping  a  toll-gate,  but  my  father  has  often  told  me 
that  Uncle  John  does  not  care  for  appearances,  and 
likes  to  do  things  that  please  him.  He  likes  to  keep  the 
tollhouse  because  it  brings  him  in  touch  with  the 
world." 

26 


MRS.    EASTERFIELD 

' '  Very  sensible  in  him, ' '  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  ' '  I 
think  I  would  like  to  keep  a  toll-gate  myself." 

Captain  Asher  had  seen  the  carriage  stop,  and 
knew  that  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  talking  to  Olive,  but  he 
did  not  think  himself  called  upon  to  intrude  upon 
them.  But  now  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  the 
tollhouse.  Two  men  in  a  buggy  with  a  broken  spring 
and  a  coffee  bag  laid  over  the  loins  of  an  imperfectly 
set-up  horse  had  been  waiting  for  nearly  a  minute  be 
hind  Mrs.  Easterfield 's  carriage,  desiring  to  pay  their 
toll  and  pass  through.  So  the  captain  went  out  of  the 
garden-gate,  collected  the  toll  from  the  two  men,  and 
directed  them  to  go  round  the  carriage  and  pass  on  in 
peace,  which  they  did. 

Then  Mrs.  Easterfield  rose  from  her  stool,  and  ap 
proached  the  tollhouse  door,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
the  captain  was  obliged  to  step  forward  and  meet  her. 
Olive  introduced  him  to  the  lady,  who  shook  hands  with 
him  very  cordially. 

' '  I  have  found  the  daughter  of  an  old  friend, ' '  said 
she,  and  then  they  all  went  into  the  tollhouse  again, 
where  the  two  ladies  reseated  themselves,  and  after 
some  explanatory  remarks  Mrs.  Easterfield  said : 

' '  Now,  Captain  Asher,  I  must  not  stay  here  block 
ing  up  your  toll-gate  all  the  morning,  but  I  want  to 
ask  of  you  a  very  great  favor.  I  want  you  to  let  your 
niece  come  and  make  me  a  visit.  I  want  a  good  visit — 
at  least  ten  days.  You  must  remember  that  her  father 
and  I,  and  her  mother,  too,  were  very  good  friends. 
Now  there  are  so  many  things  I  want  to  talk  over  with 
Miss  Olive,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  let  me  have  her  just 
for  ten  short  days.  There  are  no  guests  at  Broadstone 

27 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

yet,  and  I  want  her.  You  do  not  know  how  much  I 
want  her. ' ' 

Captain  Asher'  stood  up  tall  and  strong,  his  broad 
shoulders  resting  against  the  frame  of  the  open  door 
way.  It  was  a  positive  delight  to  him  to  stand  thus 
and  look  at  such  a  beautiful  woman.  So  far  as  he 
could  see,  there  was  nothing  about  her  with  which  to 
find  fault.  If  she  had  been  a  ship  he  would  have  said 
that  her  lines  were  perfect,  spars  and  rigging  just  as  he 
would  have  them.  In  addition  to  her  other  perfec 
tions,  she  was  large  enough.  The  captain  considered 
himself  an  excellent  judge  of  female  beauty,  and  he 
had  noticed  that  a  great  many  fine  women  were  too 
small.  With  Olive's  personal  appearance  he  was  per- 
pectly  satisfied,  although  she  was  slight,  but  she  was 
young,  and  would  probably  expand.  If  he  had  had  a 
daughter  he  would  have  liked  her  to  resemble  Mrs. 
Easterfield,  but  that  feeling  did  not  militate  in  the 
least  against  Olive.  In  his  mind  it  was  not  necessary 
for  a  niece  to  be  quite  as  large  as  a  daughter  ought 
to  be. 

"  But  what  does  Olive  say  about  it?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  have  not  been  asked  yet,"  replied  Olive,  "  but 
it  seems  to  me  that  I— 

"  Would  like  to  do  it,"  interrupted  Mrs.  Easter- 
field.  "  Now,  isn't  that  so,  dear  Olive?  " 

The  girl  looked  at  the  captain.  "  It  depends  upon 
what  you  say  about  it,  Uncle  John." 

The  captain  slightly  knitted  his  brows.  "If  it 
were  for  one  night,  or  perhaps  a  couple  of  days,"  he 
said,  "  it  would  be  different.  But  what  am  I  to  do 
without  Olive  for  nearly  two  weeks?  I  am  just  be- 

28 


MRS.    EASTERFIELD 

ginning  to  learn  what  a  poor  place  my  house  would  be 
without  her." 

At  this  minute  a  man  upon  a  rapidly  trotting  pony 
stopped  at  the  toll-gate. 

"  Excuse  me  one  minute,"  continued  the  captain, 
"  here  is  a  person  who  can  not  wait,"  and  stepping 
outside  he  said  good  morning  to  a  bright-looking 
young  fellow  riding  a  sturdy  pony  and  wearing  on 
his  cap  a  metal  plate  engraved  "  United  States  Rural 
Delivery. ' ' 

The  carrier  brought  but  one  letter  to  the  tollhouse, 
and  that  was  for  Captain  Asher  himself.  As  the  man 
rode  away  the  captain  thought  he  might  as  well  open 
his  letter  before  he  went  back.  This  would  give  the 
ladies  a  chance  to  talk  further  over  the  matter.  He 
read  the  letter,  which  was  not  long,  put  it  in  his  pocket, 
and  then  entered  the  tollhouse.  There  was  now  no 
doubt  or  sign  of  disturbance  on  his  features. 

'  *  I  have  considered  your  invitation,  madam, ' '  said 
he,  ' '  and  as  I  see  Olive  wants  to  visit  you,  I  shall  not 
interfere. ' ' 

'l  Of  course  she  does,"  cried  Mrs.  Easterneld, 
springing  to  her  feet,  ' '  and  I  thank  you  ever  and  ever 
so  much,  Captain  Asher.  And  now,  my  dear,"  said 
she  to  Olive, ' '  I  am  going  to  send  the  carriage  for  you 
to-morrow  morning. ' '  And  with  this  she  put  her  arm 
around  the  girl  and  kissed  her.  Then,  having  warmly 
shaken  hands  with  the  captain,  she  departed. 

"  Do  you  know,  Uncle  John,"  said  Olive,  "  I  be 
lieve  if  you  were  twenty  years  older  she  would  have 
kissed  you. ' ' 

With  a  grim  smile  the  captain  considered;  would 
29 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

he  have  been  willing  to  accept  those  additional  years 
under  the  circumstances  ?  He  could  not  immediately 
make  up  his  mind,  and  contented  himself  with  the  re 
flection  that  Olive  did  not  think  him  old  enough  for  the 
indiscriminate  caresses  of  young  people. 


30 


CHAPTER    IV 

The  Son  of  an  Old  Shipmate 

WHEN  Olive  came  down  to  breakfast  the  next  morn 
ing  she  half  repented  that  she  had  consented  to  go  away 
and  leave  her  uncle  for  so  long  a  time.  But  when  she 
made  known  her  state  of  mind  the  captain  laughed 
at  her. 

"  My  child,"  said  he,  "  I  want  you  to  go.  Of 
course,  I  did  not  take  to  the  notion  at  first,  but  I  did  not 
consider  then  what  you  will  have  to  tell  when  you  come 
home.  The  people  of  Glenford  will  be  your  everlast 
ing  debtors.  It  might  be  a  good  thing  to  invite  Maria 
Port  out  here.  You  could  give  her  the  best  time  she 
ever  had  in  her  life,  telling  her  about  the  Broadstone 
people." 

''Maria  Port,  indeed!"  said  Olive.  "But  we 
won 't  talk  of  her.  And  you  really  are  willing  I  should 
go?" 

*  *  I  speak  the  truth  when  I  say  I  want  you  to  go, ' ' 
replied  the  captain. 

Whereupon  Olive  assured  him  that  he  was  truly  a 
good  uncle. 

After  the  Easterfield  carriage  had  rolled  away 
with  Olive  alone  on  the  back  seat,  waving  her  handker 
chief,  the  captain  requested  Jane  to  take  entire  charge 

31 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

of  the  toll-gate  for  a  time ;  and,  having  retired  to  his 
own  room,  he  took  from  his  pocket  the  letter  he  had 
received  the  day  before. 

* '  I  must  write  an  answer  to  this, ' '  he  said, ' '  before 
the  postman  comes. ' ' 

The  letter  was  from  one  of  the  captain's  old  ship 
mates,  Captain  Richard  Lancaster,  the  best  friend  he 
had  had  when  he  was  in  the  merchant  service.  Cap 
tain  Lancaster  had  often  been  asked  by  his  old  friend 
to  visit  him  at  the  toll-gate,  but,  being  married  and 
rheumatic,  he  had  never  accepted  the  invitation.  But 
now  he  wrote  that  his  son,  Dick,  had  planned  a  holi 
day  trip  which  would  take  him  through  Glenford, 
and  that,  if  it  suited  Captain  Asher,  the  father  would 
accept  for  the  son  the  long-standing  invitation.  Cap 
tain  Lancaster  wrote  that  as  he  could  not  go  him 
self  to  his  old  friend  Asher,  the  next  best  thing  would 
be  for  his  son  to  go,  and  when  the  young  man  re 
turned  he  could  tell  his  father  all  about  Captain 
Asher.  There  would  be  something  in  that  like  old 
times.  Besides,  he  wranted  his  former  shipmate  to 
know  his  son  Dick,  who  was,  in  his  eyes,  a  very  fine 
young  fellow. 

"  There  never  was  such  a  lucky  thing  in  the 
world,"  said  Captain  Asher  to  himself,  when  he  had 
finished  rereading  the  letter.  "  Of  course,  I  want  to 
have  Dick  Lancaster's  son  here,  but  I  could  not  have 
had  him  if  Olive  had  been  here.  But  now  it  is  all  right. 
The  young  fellow  can  stay  here  a  few  days,  and  he  will 
be  gone  before  she  gets  back.  If  I  like  him  I  can  ask 
him  to  come  again;  but  that's  my  business.  Hand 
some  women,  like  that  Mrs.  Easterfield,  always  bring 

32 


THE    SON    OF    AN    OLD    SHIPMATE 

good  luck.  I  have  noticed  that  many  and  many  a 
time." 

Then  he  set  himself  to  work  to  write  a  letter  to 
invite  young  Richard  Lancaster  to  spend  a  few  days 
with  him. 

For  the  rest  of  that  day,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
next,  Captain  Asher  gave  a  great  deal  of  thinking  time 
to  the  consideration  of  the  young  man  who  was  about 
to  visit  him,  and  of  whom,  personally,  he  knew  very 
little.  He  was  aware  that  Captain  Lancaster  had  a  son 
and  no  other  children,  and  he  was  quite  sure  that  this 
son  must  now  be  a  grown-up  young  man.  Pie  remem 
bered  very  well  that  Captain  Lancaster  was  a  fine 
young  fellow  when  he  first  knew  him,  and  he  did  not 
doubt  at  all  that  the  son  resembled  the  father.  He 
did  not  believe  that  young  Dick  was  a  sailor,  because 
he  and  old  Dick  had  often  said  to  each  other  that  if 
they  married  their  sons  should  not  go  to  sea.  Of 
course  he  was  in  some  business ;  and  Captain  Lancas 
ter  ought  to  be  well  able  to  give  him  a  good  start  in 
life ;  just  as  able  as  he  himself  was  to  give  Olive  a  good 
start  in  housekeeping  when  the  time  came. 

"  Now,  what  in  the  name  of  common  sense,"  ejacu 
lated  Captain  Asher,  "  did  I  think  of  that  for  ?  What 
has  he  to  do  with  Olive,  or  Olive  with  him1?  ':  And 
then  he  said  to  himself,  thinking  of  the  young  man  in 
the  bosom  of  his  family  and  without  reference  to  any 
body  outside  of  it :  "  Yes,  his  father  must  be  pretty 
well  off.  He  did  a  good  deal  more  trading  than  ever 
I  did.  But  after  all,  I  don't  believe  he  invested  his 
money  any  better  than  I  did  mine,  and  it  is  just  as  like 
as  not  if  we  were  to  show  our  hands,  that  Olive  would 

33 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

get  as  much  as  Dick's  son.  There  it  is  again.  I  can't 
keep  my  mind  off  the  thing."  And  as  he  spoke  he 
knocked  the  ashes  out  of  his  pipe,  and  began  to  stride 
up  and  down  the  garden  walk;  and  as  he  did  so  he 
began  to  reproach  himself. 

What  right  had  he  to  think  of  his  niece  in  that  way  ? 
It  was  not  doing  the  fair  thing  by  her  father,  and  per 
haps  by  her,  for  that  matter.  For  all  he  knew  she 
might  be  engaged  to  somebody  out  West  or  down  East, 
or  in  some  other  part  of  the  world  where  she  had  lived. 
But  this  idea  made  very  little  impression  on  him. 
Knowing  Olive  as  he  did,  he  did  not  believe  that  she 
was  engaged  to  anybody  anywhere;  he  did  not  want 
to  think  that  she  was  the  kind  of  girl  who  would 
conceal  her  engagement  from  him,  or  who  could  do 
it,  for  that  matter.  But,  everything  considered,  he 
was  very  glad  Olive  had  gone  to  Broadstone,  for,  what 
ever  the  young  fellow  might  happen  to  be,  he  wanted 
to  know  all  about  him  before  Olive  met  him. 

Captain  Asher  firmly  believed  that  there  was  noth 
ing  of  the  matchmaker  in  his  disposition,  but  notwith 
standing  this  estimate  of  himself,  he  went  on  thinking 
of  Olive  and  the  son  of  his  old  shipmate,  both  sepa 
rately  and  together.  He  had  never  said  to  anybody, 
nor  intimated  to  anybody,  that  he  was  going  to  give  any 
of  his  moderate  fortune  to  his  niece.  In  fact,  before 
this  visit  to  him  he  had  not  thought  much  about  it, 
nor  did  it  enter  his  mind  that  Olive's  Boston  aunt, 
her  mother's  sister,  had  favored  this  visit  of  the  girl 
to  her  toll-gate  uncle,  hoping  that  he  might  think 
about  it. 

In  consequence  of  these  cogitations,  and  in  spite  of 
34 


THE    SON    OF    AN    OLD    SHIPMATE 

the  fact  that  he  despised  matchmaking,  Captain  Asher 
was  greatly  interested  in  the  coming  advent  of  his  ship 
mate  's  son. 

When  the  same  phaeton,  the  same  horse,  and  the 
same  boy  that  had  brought  Maria  Port  to  the  tollhouse, 
coiiveyed  there  a  young  man  with  two  valises,  one 
rather  large,  Captain  Asher  did  not  hurry  from  the 
house  to  meet  his  visitor.  He  had  seen  him  coming,  and 
had  preferred  to  stand  in  his  doorway  and  take  a  pre 
liminary  observation  of  him.  Having  taken  this,  Cap 
tain  Asher  was  obliged  to  confess  to  himself  that  he 
was  disappointed. 

The  first  cause  of  his  disappointment  was  the  fact 
that  the  young  man  wore  a  colored  shirt  and  no  vest, 
and  a  yellow  leather  belt.  Now,  Captain  Asher  for 
the  greater  part  of  his  active  life  had  worn  colored 
shirts,  sometimes  very  dark  ones,  with  no  vests,  but 
he  had  not  supposed  that  a  young  man  coming  to  a 
house  where  there  was  a  young  lady  accustomed  to 
the  best  society  would  present  himself  in  such  at 
tire.  The  captain  instantly  remembered  that  his  vis 
itor  could  not  know  that  there  was  a  young  lady  at 
the  house,  but  this  did  not  satisfy  him.  Such  attire 
was  not  respectful,  even  to  him.  The  leather  belt 
especially  offended  him.  The  captain  was  not  aware 
of  the  neglige  summer  fashions  for  men  which  then 
prevailed. 

The  next  thing  that  disappointed  him  was  that 
young  Lancaster,  seen  across  the  garden,  did  not  appear 
to  be  the  strapping  young  fellow  he  had  expected  to  see. 
He  was  moderately  tall,  and  moderately  broad,  and 
handled  his  valise  with  apparent  ease,  but  he  did  not 
5  35 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

look  as  though  he  were  his  father's  son.  Dick  Lan 
caster  had  married  the  daughter  of  a  captain  when 
he  was  only  a  second  mate,  and  that  piece  of  good 
fortune  had  been  generally  attributed  to  his  good 
looks. 

But  these  observations  and  reflections  occupied  a 
very  short  time,  and  Captain  Asher  walked  quickly  to 
meet  his  visitor.  As  he  stepped  out  of  the  garden- 
gate  he  was  disappointed  again.  The  young  man's 
trousers  were  turned  up  above  his  shoes.  The  weather 
was  not  wet,  there  wras  no  mud,  and  if  Dick  Lancas 
ter's  son  had  not  bought  a  pair  of  ready-made  trou 
sers  that  were  too  long  for  him,  why  should  he  turn 
them  up  in  that  ridiculous  way  1 

In  spite  of  these  first  impressions,  the  captain  gave 
his  old  friend's  son  a  hearty  welcome,  and  took  him 
into  the  house.  After  dinner  he  subjected  the  young 
man  to  a  crucial  test ;  he  asked  him  if  he  smoked.  If 
the  visitor  had  answered  in  the  negative  he  would  have 
dropped  still  further  in  the  captain's  estimation.  It 
was  not  that  the  captain  had  any  theories  in  regard  to 
the  sanitary  advantages  or  disadvantages  of  tobacco; 
he  simply  remembered  that  nearly  all  the  rascals  with 
whom  he  had  been  acquainted  had  been  eager  to  declare 
that  they  never  used  tobacco  in  any  form,  and  that 
nearly  all  the  good  fellows  he  had  known  enjoyed  their 
pipes.  In  fact,  he  could  not  see  how  good  fellowship 
could  be  maintained  without  good  talk  and  good  to 
bacco,  so  he  waited  with  an  anxious  interest  for  his 
guest 's  answer. 

* '  Oh,  yes, ' '  said  he,  "I  am  fond  of  a  smoke,  espe 
cially  in  company, ' '  and  so,  having  risen  several  inches 

36 


THE    SON    OF    AN    OLD    SHIPMATE 

in  the  good  opinion  of  his  host,  he  followed  him  to  the 
little  arbor  in  the  garden. 

"  Now,  then,"  said  Captain  Asher,  when  his  pipe 
was  alight,  * '  you  have  told  me  a  great  deal  about  your 
father,  now  tell  me  something  about  yourself.  I  do 
not  even  know  what  your  business  is. ' ' 

11  I  am  Assistant  Professor  of  Theoretical  Mathe- 

t 

matics  in  Button  College, ' '  answered  the  young  man. 

Captain  Asher  put  down  his  pipe  and  gazed  at  his 
visitor  across  the  arbor.  This  answer  was  so  different 
from  anything  he  had  expected  that  for  the  moment  he 
could  not  express  his  astonishment,  and  was  obliged 
to  content  himself  with  asking  where  Button  College 
was. 

i  i  It  is  what  they  call  a  fresh- water  college, ' '  replied 
the  young  man,  * '  and  I  do  not  wonder  that  you  do  not 
know  where  it  is.  It  is  near  our  town.  I  graduated 
there  and  received,  my  present  appointment  about  three 
years  ago.  I  was  then  twenty-seven. ' ' 

*  *  Your  father  was  good  at  mathematics, ' '  said  Cap 
tain  Asher.  "  He  was  a  great  hand  at  calculations, 
but  he  went  in  for  practise,  as  I  did,  and  not  for  theo 
ries.  I  suppose  there  are  other  professors  who  teach 
regular  working  mathematics. ' ' 

"  Oh,  yes,"  replied  the  young  man,  with  a  smile, 
"  there  is  the  Professor  of  Applied  Mathematics, 
but  of  course  the  thorough  student  wants  to  un 
derstand  the  theories  on  which  his  practise  is  to  be 
based." 

•"  I  do  not  see  why  he  should,"  replied  the  other. 
' '  If  a  good  ship  is  launched  for  me,  I  don 't  care  any 
thing  about  the  stocks  she  slides  off  of." 

37 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  Perhaps  not,"  said  Lancaster,  "  but  somebody 
has  to  think  about  them. ' ' 

In  the  afternoon  Captain  Asher  showed  his  visitor 
his  little  farm,  and  took  him  out  fishing.  During  these 
recreations  he  refrained,  as  far  as  possible,  from  ask 
ing  questions,  for  he  did  not  wish  the  young  man  to  sup 
pose  that  for  any  reason  he  had  been  sent  there  to  un 
dergo  an  examination.  But  in  the  evening  he  could  not 
help  talking  about  the  college,  not  in  reference  to  the 
work  and  life  of  the  students,  a  subject  that  did  not 
interest  him,  but  in  regard  to  the  work  and  the  pros 
pects  of  the  faculty. 

"  What  does  your  president  teach?  "  he  asked. 
"  I  believe  all  presidents  have  charge  of  some  branch 
or  other. ' ' 

' '  Oh,  yes, ' '  said  Lancaster,  * '  our  president  is  Pro 
fessor  of  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy. ' ' 

"  I  thought  it  would  be  something  of  the  kind," 
said  the  captain  to  himself.  "  Even  the  head  Pro 
fessor  of  Mathematical  Theories  would  never  get  to  the 
top  of  the  heap.  He  is  not  useful  enough  for  that. ' ' 

After  he  had  gone  to  bed  that  night  Captain  Asher 
found  himself  laughing  about  the  events  of  the  day. 
He  could  not  help  it  when  he  remembered  how  his 
mind  had  been  almost  constantly  occupied  with  a  con 
sideration  of  his  old  shipmate's  son  with  reference  to 
his  brother's  daughter.  And  wrhen  he  remembered 
that  neither  of  these  two  young  people  had  ever  seen 
or  heard  of  the  other,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he 
laughed  a  little. 

* '  It 's  none  of  my  business,  anyway, ' '  thought  the 
captain,  *  *  and  I  might  as  well  stop  bothering  my  head 

38 


THE    SON    OF    AN    OLD    SHIPMATE 

about  it.  I  suppose  I  might  as  well  tell  him  about 
Olive,  for  it  is  nothing  I  need  keep  secret.  But  first 
I'll  see  how  long  he  is  going  to  stay.  It's  none  of  his 
business,  anyway,  whether  I  have  a  niece  staying  with 
me  or  not." 


39 


CHAPTER    V 

Olive  pays  Toll 

IT  is  needless  to  say  that  Olive  was  charmed  with 
Broadstone ;  with  its  mistress ;  with  the  two  little  girls ; 
with  the  woods ;  the  river ;  the  mountains ;  and  even  the 
sky ;  which  seemed  different  from  that  same  sky  when 
viewed  from  the  tollhouse.  She  was  charmed  also  with 
the  rest  of  the  household,  which  was  different  from 
anything  of  that  kind  that  she  had  known,  being  com 
posed  entirely,  with  the  exception  of  some  servants, 
of  women  and  little  girls.  Olive,  accustomed  all  her 
life  to  men,  men,  men,  grew  rapturous  over  this  Ama 
zonian  paradise. 

' '  Don't  be  too  enthusiastic, ' '  said  Mrs.  Easterfield ; 
"  for  a  while  you  may  like  fresh  butter  without  salt, 
but  the  longing  for  the  condiment  will  be  sure  to 
come. ' ' 

There  was  Mrs.  Blynn,  the  widow  of  a  clergyman, 
with  dark-brown  eyes  and  white  hair,  who  was  always 
in  a  good  humor,  who  acted  as  the  general  manager  of 
the  household,  and  also  as  particular  friend  to  any  one 
in  the  house  who  needed  her  services  in  that  way. 
Then  there  was  Miss  Raleigh,  who  was  supposed  to  be 
Mrs.  Easterfield 's  secretary.  She  was  a  slender  spin 
ster  of  forty  or  more,  with  sad  eyes  and  very  fine  teeth. 

40 


OLIVE    PAYS    TOLL 

She  had  dyspeptic  proclivities,  and  never  differed  with 
anybody  except  in  regard  to  her  own  diet.  She  seldom 
wrote  for  Mrs.  Easterfield,  for  that  lady  did  not  like 
her  handwriting,  and  she  did  not  understand  the  use 
of  the  typewriter ;  nor  did  she  read  to  the  lady  of  the 
house,  for  Mrs.  Easterfield  could  not  endure  to  have 
anybody  read  to  her.  But  in  all  the  other  duties  of  a 
secretary  she  made  herself  very  useful.  She  saw  that 
the  books,  which  every  morning  were  found  lying  about 
the  house,  were  put  in  their  proper  places  on  the 
shelves,  and,  if  necessary,  she  dusted  them ;  if  she  saw 
a  book  turned  upside  down  she  immediately  set  it  up 
properly.  She  was  also  expected  to  exert  a  certain 
supervision  over  the  books  the  little  girls  were  allowed 
to  look  at.  She  was  an  excellent  listener  and  an  ap 
propriate  smiler;  Mrs.  Easterfield  frequently  said  that 
she  never  knew  Miss  Kaleigh  to  smile  in  the  wrong 
place.  She  took  a  regular  walk  every  day,  eight  times 
up  and  down  the  whole  length  of  the  lawn. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  gave  herself  almost  entirely  to  the 
entertainment  of  her  guest.  They  roamed  over  the 
grounds,  they  found  the  finest  points  of  view,  at  which 
Olive  was  expert,  being  a  fine  climber,  and  they 
tramped  for  long  distances  along  the  edge  of  the  woods, 
where  together  they  killed  a  snake.  Mrs.  Easterfield 
also  allowed  Olive  the  great  privilege  of  helping  her 
work  in  her  garden  of  nature.  This  was  a  wide  bed 
which  was  almost  entirely  shaded  by  two  large  trees. 
The  peculiarity  about  this  bed  was  that  its  mistress 
carefully  pulled  up  all  the  flowering  plants  and  culti 
vated  the  weeds. 

"  You  see,"  said  she  to  Olive,  "  I  planted  here  a 
41 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

lot  of  flower-seeds  which  I  thought  would  thrive  in  the 
shade,  but  they  did  not,  and  after  a  while  I  found  that 
they  were  all  spindling  and  puny-looking,  while  the 
weeds  were  growing  as  if  they  were  out  in  the  open 
sunshine,  so  I  have  determined  to  acknowledge  the 
principle  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  and  whenever 
anything  that  looks  like  a  flower  shows  itself  I  jerk  it 
out.  I  also  thin  out  all  but  the  best  weeds.  I  hoe  and 
rake  the  others,  and  water  them  if  necessary.  Look  at 
that  splendid  Jamestown  weed — here  they  call  it  jim- 
son  weed — did  you  ever  see  anything  finer  than  that 
with  its  great  white  blossoms  and  dark-green  leaves? 
I  expect  it  to  be  twice  as  large  before  the  summer  is 
over.  And  all  these  others.  See  how  graceful  they 
are,  and  what  delicate  flowers  some  of  them  have !  " 

1 '  I  wonder, ' '  said  Olive,  "  if  I  should  have  had  the 
strength  of  mind  to  pull  up  my  flowers  and  leave  my 
weeds. ' ' 

"  The  more  you  think  about  it,"  said  Mrs.  Easter- 
field,  * '  the  more  you  like  weeds.  They  have  such  fine 
physiques,  and  they  don't  ask  anybody  to  do  anything 
for  them.  They  are  independent,  like  self-made  men, 
and  come  up  of  themselves.  They  laugh  at  disadvan 
tages,  and  even  bricks  and  flagstones  will  not  keep  them 
down." 

"  But,  after  all,"  said  Olive,  "  give  me  the  flowers 
that  can  not  take  care  of  themselves. ' '  And  she  turned 
toward  a  bed  of  carnations,  bright  under  the  morn 
ing  sun. 

"  Do  you  suppose,  little  girl,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield, 
following  her,  "  that  I  do  not  like  flowers  because  I  do 
like  weeds?  Everything  in  its  place;  weeds  are  for 

42 


OLIVE    PAYS    TOLL 

the  shady  spots,  but  I  keep  my  flowers  out  of  such 
places.  This  flower,  for  instance, ' '  touching  Olive  on 
the  cheek.  ' '  And  now  let  us  go  into  the  house  and  see 
what  pleasant  thing  we  can  find  to  do  there. ' ' 

In  the  afternoon  the  two  ladies  went  out  rowing 
on  the  river,  and  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  astonished  at 
Olive 's  proficiency  with  the  oar.  She  had  thought  her 
self  a  good  oarswoman,  but  she  was  nothing  to  Olive. 
She  good-naturedly  acknowledged  her  inferiority,  how 
ever.  How  could  she  expect  to  compete  with  a  navy 
girl?  she  said. 

'  *  Are  you  fond  of  swimming  ?  ' '  asked  Olive,  as  she 
looked  down  into  the  bright,  clear  water. 

"  Oh,  very,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  But  I  am 
not  allowed  to  swim  in  this  river.  It  is  considered 
dangerous. ' ' 

Olive  looked  up  in  surprise.  It  seemed  odd  that 
there  should  be  anything  that  this  bright,  free  woman 
was  not  allowed  to  do,  or  that  there  should  be  anybody 
who  would  not  allow  it. 

Then  followed  some  rainy  days,  and  the  first  clear 
day  Mrs.  Easterfield  told  Olive  that  she  would  take  her 
a  drive  in  the  afternoon. 

"  I  shall  drive  you  myself  with  my  own  horses/ ' 
she  said,  '  *  but  you  need  not  be  afraid,  for  I  can  drive 
a  great  deal  better  than  I  can  row.  We  must  lose  no 
time  in  seizing  all  the  advantages  of  this  Amazonian 
life,  for  to-morrow  some  of  our  guests  will  arrive,  the 
Foxes  and  Mr.  Claude  Locker. ' ' 

' '  Who  are  the  Foxes  ?  ' '  asked  Olive. 

"  They  are  the  pleasantest  visitors  that  any  one 
could  have/'  was  the  answer.  "  They  always  like 

43 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

everything.  They  never  complain  of  being  cold,  nor 
talk  about  the  weather  being  hot.  They  are  interested 
in  all  games,  and  they  like  all  possible  kinds  of  food 
that  one  can  give  them  to  eat.  They  are  always  ready 
to  go  to  bed  when  they  think  they  ought  to,  and  sit  up 
just  as  long  as  they  are  wanted.  Of  course,  they  have 
their  own  ideas  about  things,  but  they  don't  dispute. 
They  take  care  of  themselves  all  the  morning,  and  are 
ready  for  anything  you  want  to  do  in  the  afternoon  or 
evening.  They  have  two  children  at  home,  but  they 
never  talk  about  them  unless  they  are  particularly 
asked  to  do  so.  They  know  a  great  many  people,  and 
you  can  tell  by  the  way  they  speak  of  them  that  they 
won 't  talk  scandal  about  you.  In  fact,  they  are  model 
guests,  and  they  ought  to  open  a  school  to  teach  the  art 
of  visiting. ' ' 

"  And  what  about  Mr.  Claude  Locker?  " 

Mrs.  Easterfield  laughed.  "  Oh,  he  is  different," 
she  said ;  "  he  is  so  different  from  the  Foxes  that  words 
would  not  describe  it.  But  you  won't  be  long  in  be 
coming  acquainted  with  him." 

The  road  over  which  the  two  ladies  drove  that  after 
noon  was  a  beautiful  one,  sometimes  running  close  to 
the  river  under  great  sycamores,  then  making  a  turn 
into  the  woods  and  among  the  rocks.  At  last  they  came 
to  a  cross-road,  which  led  away  from  the  river,  and  here 
Mrs.  Easterfield  stopped  her  horses. 

"  Now,  Olive,"  said  she,  for  she  was  now  very 
familiar  with  her  guest,  '  *  I  will  leave  the  return  route 
to  you.  Shall  we  go  back  by  the  river  road — and  the 
scenery  will  be  very  different  when  going  in  the  other 
direction — or  shall  we  drive  over  to  Glenford,  and  go 

44 


OLIVE    PAYS    TOLL 

home  by  the  turnpike?  That  is  a  little  farther,  but 
the  road  is  a  great  deal  better  ?  ' ' 

1 '  Oh,  let  us  go  that  way, ' '  cried  Olive.  ' '  We  will 
go  through  Uncle  John's  toll-gate,  and  you  must  let  me 
pay  the  toll.  It  will  be  such  fun  to  pay  toll  to  Uncle 
John,  or  old  Jane." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  we  will  go 
that  way. ' ' 

When  the  horses  had  passed  through  Glenford  and 
had  turned  their  heads  homeward,  they  clattered  along 
at  a  fine  rate  over  the  smooth  turnpike,  and  Olive  was 
in  as  high  spirits  as  they  were. 

' '  Whoever  comes  out  to  take  toll, ' '  said  she,  "  I  in 
tend  to  be  treated  as  an  ordinary  traveler  and  nothing 
else.  I  have  often  taken  toll,  but  I  never  paid  it  in  my 
life.  And  they  must  take  it — no  gratis  traveling  for 
me.  But  I  hope  you  won't  mind  stopping  long  enough 
for  me  to  say  a  few  words  after  I  have  transacted  the 
regular  business." 

"'Oh,  no,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  you  can  chat 
as  much  as  you  like.  We  have  plenty  of  time." 

Olive  held  in  her  hand  a  quarter  of  a  dollar;  she 
was  determined  they  should  make  change  for  her,  and 
that  everything  should  be  done  properly. 

Dick  Lancaster  sat  in  the  garden  arbor,  reading. 
He  was  becoming  a  little  tired  of  this  visit  to  his 
father's  old  friend.  He  liked  Captain  Asher  and  ap 
preciated  his  hospitality,  but  there  was  nothing  very 
interesting  for  him  to  do  in  this  place,  and  he  had 
thought  that  it  might  be  a  very  good  thing  if  the  sev 
eral  days  for  which  he  had  been  invited  should  ter 
minate  on  the  morrow.  There  were  some  very  attract-* 

45 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

ive  plans  ahead  of  him,  and  he  felt  that  he  had  now 
done  his  full  duty  by  his  father  and  his  father's  old 
friend. 

Captain  Asher  was  engaged  with  some  matters 
about  his  little  farm,  and  Lancaster  had  asked  as  a 
favor  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  tend  the  toll-gate 
during  his  absence.  It  would  be  something  to  do,  and, 
moreover,  something  out  of  the  way. 

When  he  perceived  the  approach  of  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  's  carriage  Lancaster  walked  down  to  the  tollhouse, 
and  stopped  for  a  minute  to  glance  over  the  rates  of 
toll  which  were  pasted  up  inside  the  door  as  well  as  out. 

The  carriage  stopped,  and  when  a  young  man 
stepped  out  from  the  tollhouse  Olive  gave  a  sudden 
start,  and  the  words  Avith  which  she  had  intended  to 
greet  her  uncle  or  old  Jane  instantly  melted  away. 

"  Don't  push  me  out  of  the  carriage,"  said  Mrs. 
Easterfield,  good-naturedly,  and  she,  too,  looked  at  the 
young  man. 

11  For  two  horses  and  a  vehicle,"  said  Dick  Lan 
caster,  "  ten  cents,  if  you  please." 

Olive  made  no  answer,  but  handed  him  the  quarter 
with  which  he  retired  to  make  change.  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  opened  her  mouth  to  speak,  but  Olive  put  her 
finger  on  her  lips  and  shook  her  head;  the  situation 
astonished  her,  but  she  did  not  wish  to  ask  that  stran 
ger  to  explain  it. 

Lancaster  came  out  and  dropped  fifteen  cents  into 
Olive's  hand.  He  could  not  help  regarding  with  in 
terest  the  occupants  of  the  carriage,  and  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  looked  hard  at  him.  Suddenly  Olive  turned  in 
her  seat ;  she  looked  at  the  house,  she  looked  at  the  gar- 

46 


OLIVE    PAYS    TOLL 

den,  she  looked  at  the  little  piazza  by  the  side  of  the 
tollhouse.  Yes,  it  was  really  the  same  place.  For  an 
instant  she  thought  she  might  have  been  mistaken,  but 
there  was  her  window  with  the  Virginia  creeper  under 
the  sill  where  she  had  trained  it  herself.  Then  she 
made  a  motion  to  her  companion,  who  immediately 
drove  on. 

"  What  does  this  mean?  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easter- 
field.  "  Who  is  that  young  man?  Why  didn't  you 
give  me  a  chance  to  ask  after  the  captain,  even  if  you 
did  not  care  to  do  so  ?  ' : 

' '  I  never  saw  him  before !  ' '  cried  Olive.  * '  I  never 
heard  of  him.  I  don't  understand  anything  about  it. 
The  whole  thing  shocked  me,  and  I  wanted  to  get  on. ' ' 

' '  I  don 't  think  it  a  very  serious  matter, ' '  said  Mrs. 
Easterfield.  "  Some  passer-by  might  have  relieved 
your  uncle  for  a  time. ' ' 

"  Not  at  all,  not  at  all,"  replied  Olive.  "  Uncle 
John  would  never  give  the  toll-gate  into  the  charge  of  a 
passer-by,  especially  as  old  Jane  was  there.  I  know 
she  was  there,  for  the  basement  door  was  open,  and 
she  never  goes  away  and  leaves  it  so.  That  man  is 
somebody  who  is  staying  there.  I  saw  an  open  book  on 
the  arbor  bench.  Nobody  reads  in  that  arbor  but  me. ' ' 

' '  And  that  young  man  apparently, ' '  said  Mrs.  Eas 
terfield.  ' '  I  agree  with  you  that  it  is  surprising. ' ' 

For  some  minutes  Olive  did  not  speak.  "  I  am 
afraid,"  she  said,  presently,  "  that  my  uncle  is  not 
acting  quite  frankly  with  me.  I  noticed  how  willing  he 
was  that  I  should  go  to  your  house." 

"  Perhaps  he  expected  this  person  and  wanted  to 
get  you  out  of  the  way,"  laughed  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

47 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

*  Well,  my  dear,  I  do  not  believe  your  uncle  is  such  a 
schemer.  He  does  not  look  like  it.  Take  my  word  for 
it,  it  will  all  be  as  simple  as  a-b-c  when  it  is  explained 
to  you." 

But  Olive  could  not  readily  take  this  view  of  the 
case,  and  the  drive  home  was  not  nearly  so  pleasant  as 
it  would  have  been  if  her  uncle  or  old  Jane  had  taken 
her  quarter  and  given  her  fifteen  cents  in  change. 

That  night,  soon  after  the  family  at  Broadstone  had 
retired  to  their  rooms,  Olive  knocked  at  the  door  of 
Mrs.  Easterfield  's  chamber. 

' '  Do  you  know, ' '  she  exclaimed,  when  she  had  been 
told  to  enter,  "  that  a  horrible  idea  has  come  into  my 
head  ?  Uncle  John  may  have  been  taken  sick,  and  that 
man  looked  just  like  a  doctor.  Old  Jane  was  busy 
with  uncle,  and  as  the  doctor  had  to  wait,  he  took  the 
toll.  Oh,  I  wish  we  had  asked !  It  was  cruel  in  me 
not  to!  " 

"  Now,  that  is  all  nonsense,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield. 
1 '  If  anything  serious  is  the  matter  with  your  uncle  he 
most  surely  would  have  let  you  know,  and,  besides, 
both  the  doctors  in  Glenford  are  elderly  men.  I  do 
not  believe  there  is  the  slightest  reason  for  your  anx 
iety.  But  to  make  you  feel  perfectly  satisfied,  I  will 
send  a  man  to  Glenford  early  in  the  morning.  I  want 
to  send  there  anyway. ' ' 

' '  But  I  would  not  like  my  uncle  to  think  that  I  was 
trying  to  find  out  anything  he  did  not  care  to  tell  me, ' ' 
said  Olive. 

' '  Oh,  don 't  trouble  yourself  about  that, ' '  answered 
Mrs.  Easterfield.  ' '  I  will  instruct  the  man.  He  need 
not  ask  any  questions  at  the  toll-gate.  But  when  he 

48 


OLIVE    PAYS    TOLL 

gets  to  Glenford  he  can  find  out  everything  about  that 
young  man  without  asking  any  questions.  He  is  a  very 
discreet  person.  And  I  am  also  a  discreet  person," 
she  added, 4  *  and  you  shall  have  no  connection  with  my 
messenger 's  errand. ' ' 

After  breakfast  the  next  morning  Mrs.  Easterfield 
took  Olive  aside.  * '  My  man  has  returned, ' '  she  said ; 
1 '  he  tells  me  that  Captain  Asher  took  the  toll,  and  was 
smoking  his  pipe  in  perfect  health.  He  also  saw  the 
young  man,  and  his  natural  curiosity  prompted  him  to 
ask  about  him  in  the  town.  He  heard  that  he  is  the  son 
of  one  of  the  captain's  old  shipmates  who  is  making 
him  a  visit.  Now  I  hope  this  satisfies  you. ' ' 

* '  Satisfies  me !  ' '  exclaimed  Olive.  ' '  I  should  have 
been  a  great  deal  better  satisfied  if  I  had  heard  he  was 
sick,  provided  it  was  nothing  dangerous.  I  think  my 
uncle  is  treating  me  shamefully.  It  is  not  that  I  care 
a  snap  about  his  visitor,  one  way  or  another,  but  it  is 
his  want  of  confidence  in  me  that  hurts  me.  Could  he 
have  supposed  I  should  have  wanted  to  stay  with  him 
if  I  had  known  a  young  man  was  coming  ?  ' : 

"  Well,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "I  can 
not  send  anybody  to  find  out  what  he  supposed.  But 
I  am  as  certain  as  I  can  be  certain  of  anything  that 
there  is  nothing  at  all  in  this  bugbear  you  have  con 
jured  up.  No  doubt  the  young  man  dropped  in  quite 
accidentally,  and  it  was  his  bad  luck  that  prevented 
him  from  dropping  in  before  you  left." 

Olive  shook  her  head.  ' '  My  uncle  knew  all  about 
it.  His  manner  showed  it.  He  has  treated  me  very 
badly." 


49 


CHAPTER    VI 
Mr.  Claude  Locker 

THE  Foxes  arrived  at  Broadstone  at  the  exact  hour 
of  the  morning  at  which  they  had  been  expected. 
They  always  did  this;  even  trains  which  were  some 
times  delayed  when  other  visitors  came  were  always 
on  time  when  they  carried  the  Foxes.  They  were  both 
perfectly  well  and  happy,  as  they  always  were. 

As  rapidly  as  it  was  possible  for  human  beings  to 
do  so  they  absorbed  the  extraordinary  advantages  of 
the  house  and  it  surroundings,  and  they  said  the  right 
things  in  such  a  common-sense  fashion  that  their  host 
ess  was  proud  that  she  owned  such  a  place,  and  happy 
that  she  had  invited  them  to  see  it. 

In  their  hearts  they  liked  everything  about  the 
place  except  Olive,  and  they  wondered  how  they  were 
going  to  get  along  with  such  a  glum  young  person,  but 
they  did  not  talk  about  her  to  Mrs.  Easterfield ;  there 
was  too  much  else. 

Mr.  Claude  Locker  was  expected  on  the  train  by 
which  the  Foxes  had  come,  but  he  did  not  arrive ;  and 
this  made  it  necessary  to  send  again  for  him  in  the 
afternoon. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  tried  very  hard  to  cheer  up  Olive, 
and  to  make  her  entertain  the  Foxes  in  her  usual  lively 

50 


MR.    CLAUDE    LOCKER 

way,  but  this  was  of  no  use ;  the  young  person  was  not 
in  a  good  humor,  and  retired  for  an  afternoon  nap. 
But  as  this  was  an  indulgence  she  very  seldom  allowed 
herself,  it  was  not  likely  that  she  napped. 

Mr.  Fox  spoke  to  Mrs.  Fox  about  her.  ' '  A  queer 
girl,"  he  said;  "  what  do  you  suppose  is  the  matter 
with  her?  " 

"  The  symptoms  are  those  of  green  apples,"  re 
plied  Mrs.  Fox,  "  and  probably  she  will  be  better  to 
morrow.  ' ' 

The  carriage  came  back  without  Mr.  Locker.  But 
just  as  the  soup-plates  were  being  removed  from  the 
dinner-table  he  arrived  in  a  hired  vehicle,  and  ap 
peared  at  the  dining-room  door  with  his  hat  in  one 
hand,  and  a  package  in  the  other.  He  begged  Mrs. 
Easterfield  not  to  rise. 

' '  I  will  slip  up  to  my  room, ' '  said  he, ' '  if  you  have 
one  for  me,  and  when  I  come  down  I  will  greet  you  and 
be  introduced." 

With  this  he  turned  and  left  the  room,  but  was 
back  in  a  moment.  "  It  was  a  woman,"  he  said, 
* '  who  was  at  the  bottom  of  it.  It  is  always  a  woman, 
you  know,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  excuse  me  now  that 
you  know  this.  And  you  must  let  me  begin  wherever 
you  may  be  in  the  dinner. ' ' 

1  i  I  have  heard  of  Mr.  Locker, ' '  said  Mr.  Fox, ' '  but 
I  never  met  him  before.  'He  must  be  very  odd." 

"  He  admits  that  himself,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield, 
"  but  he  asserts  that  he  spends  a  great  deal  of  his  time 
getting  even  with  people. ' ' 

In  a  reasonable  time  Mr.  Locker  appeared  and  con 
gratulated  himself  upon  having  struck  the  roast. 
C  51 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,"  he  said,  "  we  will  now  all 
begin  dinner  together.  What  has  gone  before  was 
nothing  but  overture.  If  I  can  help  it  I  never  get  in 
until  the  beginning  of  the  play. ' ' 

He  bowed  parenthetically  as  Mrs.  Easterfield  intro 
duced  him  to  the  company ;  and,  as  she  looked  at  him, 
Olive  forgot  for  a  moment  her  uncle  and  his  visitor. 

"  Don't  send  for  soup,  I  beg  of  you,"  said  Mr. 
Locker,  as  he  took  his  seat.  "  I  regard  it  as  a  rare 
privilege  to  begin  with  the  inside  cut  of  beef. ' ' 

Mr.  Locker  was  not  allowed  to  do  all  the  talking ;  his 
hostess  would  not  permit  that ;  but  under  the  circum 
stances  he  was  allowed  to  explain  his  lateness. 

* '  You  know  I  have  been  spending  a  week  with  the 
Bartons,"  he  said,  "  and  last  night  I  came  over  from 
their  house  to  the  station  in  a  carriage.  There  is  a 
connecting  train,  but  I  should  have  had  to  take  it  very 
early  in  the  evening,  so  I  saved  time  by  hiring  a  car 
riage.  ' ' 

"  Saved  time?  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

"  I  saved  all  the  time  from  dinner  until  the  Bar 
tons  went  to  bed,  which  would  have  been  lost  if  I  had 
taken  the  train.  Besides,  I  like  to  travel  in  carriages. 
One  is  never  too  late  for  a  carriage ;  it  is  always  bound 
to  wait  for  you. ' ' 

In  the  recesses  of  his  mind  Mr.  Fox  now  said  to 
himself,  "  This  is  a  fool."'  And  Mrs.  Fox,  in  the 
recesses  of  her  mind,  remarked,  "  I  am  quite  sure 
that  Mr.  Fox  will  look  upon  this  young  man  as  a 
fool." 

(t  I  spent  what  was  left  of  the  night  at  a  tavern 
near  the  station,"  continued  Mr.  Locker,  "  where  I 


MR.    CLAUDE    LOCKER 

would  have  had  to  stay  all  night  if  I  had  not  taken 
the  carriage.  And  I  should  have  been  in  plenty  of 
time  for  the  morning  train  if  I  had  not  taken  a  walk 
before  breakfast.  Apparently  that  is  a  part  of  the 
world  where  it  takes  a  good  deal  longer  to  go  back  to  a 
place  than  it  does  to  get  away  from  it. ' ' 

' '  But  where  did  the  woman  come  in  ?  "  asked  Mrs. 
Easterfield. 

:  *  Oh,  she  came  in  with  some  tea  and  sandwiches  in 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon, ' '  said  Mr.  Locker.  ' '  I  was 
waiting  in  the  parlor  of  the  tavern.  She  was  fairly 
young,  and  as  I  ate  she  stood  and  talked.  She  talked 
about  Horace  Walpole."  At  this  even  Olive  smiled. 
'  *  It  was  odd,  wasn  't  it  ?  "  continued  Mr.  Locker,  glan 
cing  from  one  to  the  other.  "  But  that  is  what  she 
did.  She  had  been  reading  about  him  in  an  old  book. 
She  asked  me  if  I  knew  anything  about  him,  and  I 
told  her  a  great  deal.  It  was  so  very  interesting  to  tell 
her,  and  she  was  so  interested,  that  when  the  train 
arrived  I  was  too  much  occupied  to  think  that  it  might 
start  again  immediately,  but  it  did  that  very  thing, 
and  so  I  was  left.  However,  the  Walpole  young  woman 
told  me  there  was  a  freight-train  along  in  about  an 
hour,  and  so  we  continued  our  conversation.  When 
this  train  came  I  asked  the  engineer  how  many  cigars 
he  would  take  to  let  me  ride  in  the  cab.  He  said  half 
a  dozen,  but  as  I  only  had  five,  I  promised  to  send 
him  the  other  by  mail.  However,  as  I  smoked  two  of 
his  five,  I  suppose  I  ought  to  send  him  three. ' ' 

' '  This  young  man, ' '  said  Mr.  Pox  to  himself,  ' '  is 
trying  to  appear  more  of  a  fool  than  he  really  is. ' ' 

*  *  I  have  no  doubt, ' '  said  Mrs.  Fox  to  herself, ' '  that 
53 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Mr.  Fox  is  of  the  opinion  that  this  young  man  is 
making  an  effort  to  appear  foolish." 

That  evening  was  a  dull  one.  Mrs.  Easterfield  did 
her  best,  Claude  Locker  did  his  best,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fox  did  their  best  to  make  things  lively,  but  their 
success  was  poor.  Miss  Raleigh,  the  secretary,  sat 
ready  to  give  an  approving  smile  to  any  liveliness 
which  might  arise,  and  Mrs.  Blynn,  with  the  dark  eyes 
and  soft  white  hair,  sat  sewing  and  waiting;  never 
before  had  it  been  necessary  for  her  to  wait  for  liveli 
ness  in  Mrs.  Easterfield 's  house.  A  mild  rain  some 
what  assisted  the  dulness,  for  everybody  was  obliged  to 
stay  indoors. 

Early  the  next  morning  Olive  Asher  went  down 
stairs,  and  stood  in  the  open  doorway  looking  out  upon 
the  landscape,  glowing  in  the  sunshine  and  brighter 
and  mofe  odorous  from  the  recent  rain.  Some  time 
during  the  night  this  young  woman  had  made  up  her 
mind  to  give  no  further  thought  to  her  uncle  who  kept 
the  toll-gate.  There  was  no  earthly  reason  why  he,  or 
anything  he  wanted  to  do,  or  did  not  want  to  do,  or  did, 
should  trouble  and  annoy  her.  A  few  months  before 
she  had  scarcely  known  him,  not  having  seen  him  since 
she  was  a  girl ;  and,  in  fact,  he  was  no  more  to  her  now 
than  he  was  before  she  went  to  his  house.  If  he  chose 
to  offer  her  any  explanation  of  his  strange  conduct, 
that  would  be  very  well;  if  he  did  not  choose,  that 
would  also  be  very  well.  The  whole  affair  was  of  no 
consequence ;  she  would  drop  it  entirely  from  her  mind. 

Olive's  bounding  spirits  now  rose  very  high,  and 
when  Claude  Locker  came  in  with  his  shoes  soaked 
from  a  tramp  in  the  wet  grass  she  greeted  him  in  such 

54 


MR.    CLAUDE    LOCKER 

a  way  that  he  could  scarcely  believe  she  was  the 
grumpy  girl  of  the  clay  before.  As  they  went  into 
breakfast  Mrs.  Fox  remarked  to  her  husband  in  a  low 
voice  that  Miss  Asher  seemed  to  have  recovered  entirely 
from  her  indisposition. 

In  the  course  of  the  morning  Mr.  Locker  found  an 
opportunity  to  speak  in  private  with  Mrs.  Easterfield. 
lt  I  am  in  great  trouble,"  he  said;  "  I  want  to  marry 
Miss  Asher. ' ' 

"  You  show  unusual  promptness,"  said  Mrs.  Eas 
terfield. 

' '  Not  at  all, ' '  replied  Locker.  '  *  This  sort  of  thing 
is  not  unusual  with  me.  My  mind  is  a  highly  sensitive 
plate,  and  receives  impressions  almost  instantaneously. 
If  it  were  a  large  mind  these  impressions  might  be 
placed  side  by  side,  and  each  one  would  perhaps  be 
come  indelible.  But  it  is  small,  and  each  impression 
claps  itself  down  on  the  one  before.  This  last  one, 
however,  is  the  strongest  of  them  all,  and  obliterates 
everything  that  went  before. ' ' 

"  It  strikes  me,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  that  if 
you  were  to  pay  more  attention  to  your  poems  and  less 
to  young  ladies  it  would  be  better. ' ' 

"  Hardly,"  said  Mr.  Locker;  "  for  it  would  be 
worse  for  the  poems. ' ' 

The  general  appearance  of  Mr.  Locker  gave  no  rea 
son  to  suppose  that  he  would  be  warranted  in  assuming 
a  favorable  issue  from  any  of  the  impressions  to  which 
his  mind  was  so  susceptible.  He  was  small,  rather 
awkwardly  set  up,  his  head  was  large,  and  the  fea 
tures  of  his  face  seemed  to  have  no  relation  to  each 
other.  His  nose  was  somewhat  stubby,  and  had  noth- 

55 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

ing  to  do  with  his  mouth  or  eyes.  One  of  his  eyebrows 
was  drawn  down  as  if  in  days  gone  by  he  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  wearing  a  single  glass.  The  other  brow 
was  raised  over  a  clear  and  wide-open  light-blue  eye. 
His  mouth  was  large,  and  attended  strictly  to  its  own 
business.  It  transmitted  his  odd  ideas  to  other  people, 
but  it  never  laughed  at  them.  His  chin  was  round 
and  prominent,  suggesting  that  it  might  have  been 
borrowed  from  somebody  else.  His  cheeks  were  a  little 
heavy,  and  gave  no  assistance  in  the  expression  of  his 
ideas. 

His  profession  was  that  of  a  poet.  He  called  him 
self  a  practical  poet,"  because  he  made  a  regular  busi 
ness  of  it,  turning  his  poetic  inspirations  into  salable 
verse  with  the  facility  and  success,  as  he  himself  ex 
pressed  it,  of  a  man  who  makes  boxes  out  of  wood. 
Moreover,  he  sold  these  poems  as  readily  as  any  car 
penter  sold  his  boxes.  Like  himself,  Claude  Locker's 
poems  were  always  short,  always  in  request,  and  some 
times  not  easy  to  understand. 

The  poem  he  wrote  that  night  was  a  word-picture 
of  the  rising  moon  entangled  in  a  sheaf  of  corn  upon  a 
hilltop,  with  a  long-eared  rabbit  sitting  near  by  as  if 
astonished  at  the  conflagration. 

"  A  very  interesting  girl,  that  Miss  Asher,"  said 
Mr.  Fox  to  his  wife  that  evening.  "  I  do  not  know 
when  I  have  laughed  so  much. " 

' '  I  thought  you  were  finding  her  interesting, ' '  said 
Mrs.  Fox.  "  To  me  it  was  like  watching  a  game  of 
roulette  at  Monte  Carlo.  It  was  intensely  interesting, 
but  I  could  not  imagine  it  as  having  anything  to  do 
with  me." 

56 


MR.    CLAUDE    LOCKER 

' '  No,  my  dear, ' '  said  Mr.  Fox, l  i  it  could  have  noth 
ing  to  do  with  you. ' ' 

After  Mrs.  Easterfield  retired  she  sat  for  a  long 
time,  thinking  of  Olive.  That  young  person  and  Mr. 
Locker  had  been  boating  that  afternoon,  and  Olive  had 
had  the  oars.  Mr.  Locker  had  told  with  great  effect 
how  she  had  pulled  to  get  out  of  the  smooth  water,  and 
how  she  had  dashed  over  the  rapids  and  between  the 
rocks  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  his  heart  stand  still. 

' '  I  should  like  to  go  rowing  with  her  every  day, ' ' 
he  had  remarked  confidentially.  '  *  Each  time  I  started 
I  should  make  a  new  will. ' ' 

"  Why  a  new  one?  "  Mrs.  Easterfield  had  asked. 

: '  Each  time  I  should  take  something  more  from  my 
relatives  to  give  to  her, ' '  had  been  the  answer. 

As  she  sat  and  thought,  Mrs.  Easterfield  began  to 
be  a  little  frightened.  She  was  a  brave  woman,  but  it 
is  the  truly  brave  who  know  wiien  they  should  be 
frightened,  and  she  felt  her  responsibility,  not  on  ac 
count  of  the  niece  of  the  toll-gate  keeper,  but  on  ac 
count  of  the  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Asher,  whom  she 
had  once  known  so  well.  The  thing  which  frightened 
her  was  the  possibility  that  before  anybody  would  be 
likely  to  think  of  such  a  thing  Olive  might  marry 
Claude  Locker.  He  was  always  ready  to  do  anything 
he  wanted  to  do  at  any  time ;  and  for  all  Mrs.  Easter 
field  knew,  the  girl  might  be  of  the  same  sort. 

But  Mrs.  Easterfield  rose  to  the  occasion.  She 
looked  upon  Olive  as  a  wild  young  colt  who  had  broken 
out  of  her  paddock,  but  she  remembered  that  she  her 
self  had  a  record  for  speed.  "  If  there  is  to  be  any 
running  I  shall  get  ahead  of  her, ' '  she  said  to  herself, 

57 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

' '  and  I  will  turn  her  back.  I  think  I  can  trust  myself 
for  that." 

Olive  slept  the  sound  sleep  of  the  young,  but  for  all 
that  she  had  a  dream.  She  dreamed  of  a  kind,  good, 
thoughtful,  and  even  affectionate,  middle-aged  man ;  a 
man  who  looked  as  though  he  might  have  been  her 
father,  and  whom  she  was  beginning  to  look  upon  as  a 
father,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she  had  a  real 
father  dressed  in  a  uniform  and  on  a  far-away  ship. 
She  dreamed  ever  so  many  things  about  this  newer, 
although  elder,  father,  and  her  dream  made  her  very 
happy. 

But  in  the  morning  when  she  woke  her  dream  had 
entirely  passed  from  her  mind,  and  she  felt  just  as 
much  like  a  colt  as  when  she  had  gone  to  bed. 


58 


CHAPTER    VII 

The  Captain  and  his  Guest  go  Fishing  and  come 
Home  Happy 

WHEN  Dick  Lancaster  told  Captain  Asher  he  had 
taken  toll  from  two  ladies  in  a  phaeton  he  was  quite 
eloquent  in  his  description  of  said  ladies.  He  de 
clared  with  an  impressiveness  which  the  captain  had 
not  noticed  in  him  before  that  he  did  not  know  when 
he  had  seen  such  handsome  ladies.  The  younger  one, 
who  paid  the  toll,  was  absolutely  charming.  She 
seemed  a  little  bit  startled,  but  he  supposed  that  was 
because  she  saw  a  strange  face  at  the  toll-gate.  Dick 
wanted  very  much  to  know  who  these  ladies  were.  He 
had  not  supposed  that  he  would  find  such  stylish  peo 
ple,  and  such  a  handsome  turnout  in  this  part  of  the 
country. 

"  Oh,  ho,"  said  Captain  Asher,  "  do  you  suppose 
we  are  all  farmers  and  toll-gate  keepers?  If  you  do, 
you  are  very  much  mistaken,  although  I  must  admit 
that  the  stylish  people,  as  you  call  them,  are  scattered 
about  very  thinly.  I  expect  that  carriage  was  from 
Broadstone  over  on  the  mountain.  Was  the  team  dap 
ple  gray,  pony  built?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Lancaster. 

11  Then  it  was  Mrs.  Easterfield  driving  some  of  her 
59 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

company.  I  have  seen  her  with  that  team.  And  by 
George, ' '  he  exclaimed,  *  *  I  bet  my  head  the  other  one 
was  Olive !  Of  course  it  was.  And  she  paid  toll ! 
Well,  well,  if  that  isn't  a  good  one !  Olive  paying  toll ! 

I  wish  I  had  been  here  to  take  it !     That  truly  would 
have  been  a  lark !  ' ! 

Dick  Lancaster  did  not  echo  this  wish  of  his  host. 
He  was  very  glad,  indeed,  that  the  captain  had  not 
been  at  the  toll-gate  when  the  ladies  passed  through. 
Captain  Asher  was  still  laughing. 

"  Olive  must  have  been  amazed,"  he  said.  "  It 
was  queer  enough  for  her  to  go  through  my  gate  and 
pay  toll,  but  to  pay  it  to  an  Assistant  Professor  of 
Theoretical  Mathematics  was  a  good  deal  queerer.  I 
can't  imagine  what  she  thought  about  it." 

* '  She  did  not  know  I  am  that !  ' '  exclaimed  Dick 
Lancaster.  "  There  is  nothing  of  the  professor  in  my 
outward  appearance — at  least,  I  hope  not. ' ' 

"  No,  I  don't  think  there  is,"  replied  the  captain. 

I 1  But  she  must  have  been  amazed,  all  the  same.    I  wish 
I  had  been  here,  or  old  Jane,  anyway.     But,  of  course, 
when  a  stranger  showed  himself  she  would  not  have 
said  anything. ' ' 

' '  But  who  is  Olive  ?  ' '  asked  Lancaster. 

"  She's  my  niece,"  said  the  captain.  "  I  don't 
think  I  have  mentioned  her  to  you.  She  is  on  a  visit 
to  me,  but  just  now  she  is  staying  at  Broadstone.  I 
suppose  she  will  be  there  about  a  week  longer." 

"  It's  odd  he  has  not  mentioned  her  to  me," 
thought  Lancaster,  and  then,  as  the  captain  went  to  ask 
old  Jane  if  she  had  seen  Olive  pass,  the  young  man 
retired  to  the  arbor  with  a  book  which  he  did  not  read. 

60 


THE    CAPTAIN    GOES    FISHING 

His  desire  to  inform  his  host  that  it  would  be  neces 
sary  to  take  leave  of  him  on  the  morrow  had  very 
much  abated.  It  would  be  very  pleasant,  he  thought, 
to  be  a  visitor  in  a  family  of  which  that  girl  was  a 
member.  But  if  she  wrere  not  to  return  for  a  week, 
how  could  he  expect  to  stay  with  the  captain  so  long1? 
There  would  be  no  possible  excuse  for  such  a  thing. 
Then  he  thought  it  would  be  very  pleasant  to  be  in 
a  country  of  which  that  young  woman  was  one  of 
the  inhabitants.  Anyway,  he  hoped  the  captain 
would  invite  him  to  make  a  longer  stay.  The  great 
blue  eyes  with  which  the  young  lady  had  regarded 
him  as  she  paid  the  toll  would  not  fade  out  of  his 
mind. 

* '  She  must  have  wondered  who  it  was  that  took  the 
toll,"  said  old  Jane.  "  And  there  wasn't  no  need  of 
it,  anyway.  I  could  have  took  it  as  I  always  have  took 
it  when  you  was  not  here,  and  before  either  of  them 
came." 

"  Either  of  them  "  struck  the  captain's  ear 
strangely.  Here  was  this  old  woman  coupling  these 
two  young  people  in  her  mind ! 

The  next  morning  Captain  Asher  sat  on  his  little 
piazza,  smoking  his  pipe  and  thinking  about  Olive  dri 
ving  through  the  gate  and  paying  toll  to  a  stranger. 
But  he  now  considered  the  incident  from  a  different 
point  of  view.  Of  course,  Olive  had  been  surprised 
when  she  had  seen  the  young  man,  but  she  might  also 
have  wondered  how  he  happened  to  be  there  and  she 
not  know  of  it.  If  he  were  staying  long-  enough  to  be 
entrusted  with  toll-taking  it  might — in  fact,  the  captain 
thought  it  probably  would — appear  very  strange  to  her 

61 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

that  she  should  not  know  of  it.  So  now  he  asked  him 
self  if  it  would  not  be  a  good  thing  if  he  were  to  write 
her  a  little  note  in  which  he  should  mention  Mr.  Lan 
caster  and  his  visit.  In  fact,  he  thought  the  best  thing 
he  could  do  Avould  be  to  write  her  a  playful  sort  of  a 
note,  and  tell  her  that  she  should  feel  honored  by  hav 
ing  her  toll  taken  up  by  a  college  professor.  But  he 
did  not  immediately  write  the  note.  The  more  he 
thought  about  it,  the  more  he  wished  he  had  been 
at  the  toll-gate  when  Mrs.  Easterneld's  phaeton 
passed  by. 

Captain  Asher  did  not  write  his  note  at  all.  He  did 
not  know  what  to  say;  he  did  not  want  to  make  too 
much  of  the  incident,  for  it  was  really  a  trifling  matter, 
only  worthy  of  being  mentioned  in  case  he  had  some 
thing  more  important  to  write  about.  But  he  had 
nothing  more  important ;  there  was  no  reason  why  he 
should  write  to  Olive  during  her  short  stay  with  Mrs. 
Easterficld.  Besides,  she  would  soon  be  back,  and 
then  he  could  talk  to  her ;  that  would  be  much  better. 
Now,  two  strong  desires  began  to  possess  him ;  one  was 
for  Olive  to  come  home ;  and  the  other  for  Dick  Lancas 
ter  to  go  away.  There  had  been  moments  when  he  had 
had  a  shadowy  notion  of  bringing  the  two  together, 
but  this  idea  had  vanished.  His  mind  was  now  occu 
pied  very  much  with  thoughts  of  his  beautiful  niece 
and  very  little  with  the  young  man  in  the  colored 
shirt  and  turned-up  trousers  who  was  staying  with 
him. 

Dick  Lancaster,  in  his  arbor,  was  also  thinking  a 
great  deal  about  Olive,  and  very  little  about  that  stal 
wart  sailor,  her  uncle.  If  he  had  merely  seen  the 

62 


THE    CAPTAIN    GOES    FISHING 

young  woman,  and  had  never  heard  anything  about 
her,  her  face  would  have  impressed  him,  but  the  knowl 
edge  that  she  was  an  inmate  of  the  house  in  which  he 
was  staying  could  not  fail  to  affect  him  very  much. 
He  was  puzzling  his  mind  about  the  girl  who  had  given 
him  a  quarter  of  a  dollar,  and  to  whom  he  had  handed 
fifteen  cents  in  change.  He  wondered  how  such  a  girl 
happened  to  be  living  at  such  a  place.  He  wondered  if 
there  were  any  possibility  of  his  staying  there,  or  in  the 
neighborhood,  until  she  should  come  back ;  he  wondered 
if  there  were  any  way  by  which  he  could  see  her  again. 
He  might  have  wondered  a  good  many  other  things  if 
Captain  Asher  had  not  approached  the  arbor.  The 
captain  having  been  aroused  from  his  mental  contem 
plation  of  Olive  by  a  man  in  a  wagon,  had  glanced 
over  at  the  arbor  and  had  suddenly  been  struck  with 
the  conviction  that  that  young  man  looked  bored, 
and  that,  as  his  host,  he  was  not  doing  the  right  thing 
by  him. 

"  Dick,"  said  the  captain,  "  let's  go  fishing.  It's 
not  late  yet,  and  I'll  put  my  mare  to  the  buggy,  and 
we  can  drive  to  the  river.  We  will  take  something  to 
eat  with  us,  and  make  a  day  of  it." 

Lancaster  hesitated  a  moment ;  he  had  been  think 
ing  that  the  time  had  come  when  he  should  say  some 
thing  about  his  departure,  but  this  invitation  settled 
the  matter  for  that  day ;  and  in  half  an  hour  the  two 
had  started  away,  leaving  the  toll-gate  in  charge  of  old 
Jane,  who  was  a  veteran  in  the  business,  having  lived 
at  the  toll-gate  years  before  the  captain. 

As  they  drove  along  the  smooth  turnpike  Lancaster 
remembered  with  great  interest  that  this  road  led  to 

63 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

the  gap  in  the  mountains;  that  the  captain  had  told 
him  Broadstone  was  not  very  far  from  the  gap ;  and 
that  the  river  was  not  very  far  from  Broadstone ;  and 
his  face  glowed  with  interest  in  the  expedition. 

But  when,  after  a  few  miles,  they  turned  into  a 
plain  country  road  which,  as  the  captain  informed 
him,  led  in  a  southeasterly  direction,  to  a  point  on 
the  river  where  black  bass  were  to  be  caught  and 
where  a  boat  could  be  hired,  the  corners  of  Dick 
Lancaster's  mouth  began  to  droop.  Of  necessity 
that  road  must  reach  the  river  miles  to  the  south 
of  Broadstone. 

It  was  a  very  good  day  for  fishing,  and  the  captain 
was  pleased  to  see  that  the  son  of  his  old  shipmate  was 
a  very  fair  angler.  Toward  the  close  of  the  afternoon, 
with  the  conviction  that  they  had  had  a  good  time  and 
that  their  little  expedition  had  been  a  success,  the  two 
fishermen  set  out  for  home  with  a  basket  of  bass :  some 
of  them  quite  a  respectable  size;  stowed  away  under 
the  seat  of  the  buggy.  When  they  reached  the  turn 
pike  the  old  mare,  knowing  well  in  which  direction  her 
supper  lay,  turned  briskly  to  the  left,  and  set  out  upon 
a  good  trot.  But  this  did  not  last  very  long.  To  her 
great  surprise  she  was  suddenly  pulled  up  short ;  a  car 
riage  with  two  horses  which  had  been  approaching 
had  also  stopped. 

On  the  back  seat  of  this  carriage  sat  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  ;  on  one  side  of  her  was  a  little  girl,  and  on  the 
other  side  was  another  little  girl,  each  with  her  feet 
stuck  out  straight  in  front  of  her. 

"  Oh,  Captain  Asher,"  exclaimed  the  lady,  with  a 
most  enchanting  smile,  '  *  I  am  so  glad  to  meet  you.  I 

64 


THE    CAPTAIN    GOES    FISHING 

was  obliged  to  go  to  Glenford  to  take  one  of  my  little 
girls  to  the  dentist,  and  I  inquired  for  you  each  time 
I  passed  your  gate. ' ' 

The  captain  was  very  glad  he  had  been  so  fortu 
nate  as  to  meet  her,  and  as  her  eyes  were  now  fixed 
upon  his  companion,  he  felt  it  incumbent  upon  him 
to  introduce  Mr.  Richard  Lancaster,  the  son  of  an 
old  shipmate. 

"  But  not  a  sailor,  I  imagine,"  said  Mrs.  Easter- 
field. 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  the  captain,  "  Mr.  Lancaster  is 
Assistant  Professor  of  Theoretical  Mathematics  in  Sut- 
ton  College." 

Dick  could  not  imagine  why  the  captain  said  all 
this,  and  he  flushed  a  little. 

' '  Sutton  College  1  ' '  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  ' '  Then, 
of  course,  you  know  Professor  Brent. ' ' 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Lancaster.  "  He  is  our  presi 
dent." 

' '  I  never  met  him, ' '  said  she,  * t  but  he  was  a  class 
mate  of  my  husband,  and  I  have  often  heard  him 
speak  of  him.  And  now  for  my  errand,  Captain 
Asher.  Isn't  it  about  time  you  should  be  wanting  to 
see  your  niece1?  '  •  ; 

The  captain's  heart  sank.  Did  she  intend  to  send 
Olive  home? 

"  I  always  want  to  see  her,"  he  said,  but  without 
enthusiasm. 

' '  But  don 't  you  think  it  would  be  nice, ' '  said  the 
lady,  "  if  you  were  to  come  to  lunch  with  us  to-mor 
row  ?  It  was  to  ask  you  this  that  I  inquired  for  you 
at  the  toll-gate." 

65 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Now,  this  was  another  thing  altogether,  and  the 
captain's  earnest  acceptance  would  have  been  more 
coherent  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  impatience  of  his 
mare. 

' '  And  I  want  you  to  bring  your  friend  with  you, ' ' 
continued  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  The  invitation  is  for 
you  both,  of  course. ' ' 

Dick 's  face  said  that  this  would  be  heavenly,  but  his 
mouth  was  more  prudent. 

' '  It  will  be  strictly  informal, ' '  continued  Mrs.  Eas 
terfield.  il  Only  myself  and  family,  three  guests,  and 
Olive.  AVe  shall  sit  down  at  one.  Good-by. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  was  entirely  truthful  when  she 
said  she  was  glad  to  meet  the  captain.  Her  anxiety 
about  Olive  and  Claude  Locker  was  somewhat  on  the 
increase.  She  was  very  well  aware  that  the  most  dan 
gerous  thing  for  one  young  woman  is  one  young  man ; 
and  in  thinking  over  this  truism  she  had  been  im 
pressed  with  the  conviction  that  it  was  not  well  for 
Mr.  Claude  Locker  to  be  the  one  man  at  Broadstone. 
Then,  in  thinking  of  possible  young  men,  her  mind 
naturally  turned  to  the  young  man  who  was  visit 
ing  Olive's  uncle.  She  did  not  know  anything  about 
him,  but  he  was  a  young  man,  and  if  he  proved  to 
be  worth  something,  he  could  be  asked  to  come  again. 
So  it  was  really  to  Dick  Lancaster,  and  not  to  Cap 
tain  Asher,  that  the  luncheon  invitation  had  been 
given. 

The  appointment  with  the  Glenford  dentist  had 
made  it  necessary  for  her  to  leave  home  that  afternoon. 
To  be  sure,  she  had  sent  the  Foxes  with  Olive  and 
Claude  Locker  upon  the  drive  through  the  gap,  and, 

66 


THE    CAPTAIN    GOES    FISHING 

under  ordinary  circumstances,  and  with  ordinary  peo 
ple,  there  would  have  been  no  reason  for  her  to  trouble 
herself  about  them,  but  neither  the  circumstances  nor 
the  people  were  ordinary,  and  she  now  felt  anxious  to 
get  home  and  find  out  what  Claude  Locker  and  Olive 
had  done  with  Mrs.  and  Mr.  Fox. 


67 


CHAPTER    VIII 

Captain  Aslier  is  not  in  a  Good  Humor 

THE  next  morning  was  very  bright  for  Captain 
Asher ;  he  was  going  to  see  Olive,  and  he  did  not  know 
before  how  much  he  wished  to  see  her. 

When  Dick  Lancaster  came  from  the  house  to  take 
his  seat  in  the  buggy  the  sight  of  the  handsome  suit  of 
dark-blue  serge,  white  shirt  and  collar,  and  patent-' 
leather  shoes,  with  the  trousers  hanging  properly  above 
them,  placed  Dick  very  much  higher  in  the  captain's 
estimation  than  the  young  man  with  the  colored  shirt 
and  rolled-up  trousers  could  ever  have  reached.  The 
captain,  too,  was  well  dressed  for  the  occasion,  and 
Mrs.  Easterfield  had  no  reason  whatever  to  be 
ashamed  of  these  two  gentlemen  when  she  introduced 
them  to  her  other  visitors. 

She  liked  Professor  Lancaster.  Having  lately  had 
a  good  deal  of  Claude  Locker,  she  was  prepared  to  like 
a  quiet  and  thoroughly  self-possessed  young  man. 

Olive  was  the  latest  of  the  little  company  to  ap 
pear,  and  when  she  came  down  she  caused  a  genuine, 
though  gentle  sensation.  She  was  most  exquisitely 
dressed,  not  too  much  for  a  luncheon,  and  not  enough 
for  a  dinner.  This  navy  girl  had  not  studied  for 
nothing  the  art  of  dressing  in  different  parts  of  the 

68 


THE    CAPTAIN    IN    BAD    HUMOR 

world.     Her    uncle    regarded    her    with    open-eyed 
astonishment. 

"  Is  this  my  brother's  daughter?  "  he  asked  him 
self.  "  The  little  girl  who  poured  my  coffee  in  the 
morning  and  went  out  to  take  toll  ?  ' ' 

Olive  greeted  her  uncle  with  absolute  propriety, 
and  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Lancaster  with  a 
formal  courtesy  to  which  no  objection  could  be  made. 
Apparently  she  forgot  the  existence  of  Mr.  Locker, 
and  for  the  greater  part  of  the  meal  she  conversed 
with  Mr.  Fox  about  certain  foreign  places  with  which 
they  were  both  familiar. 

The  luncheon  was  not  a  success ;  there  was  a  certain 
stiffness  about  it  which  even  Mrs.  Easterfield  could  not 
get  rid  of ;  and  when  the  gentlemen  went  out  to  smoke 
on  the  piazza  Olive  disappeared,  sending  a  message 
to  Mrs.  Easterfield  that  she  had  a  bad  headache  and 
would  like  to  be  excused.  Her  excuse  was  a  perfectly 
honest  one,  for  she  was  apt  to  have  a  headache  when 
she  was  angry ;  and  she  was  angry  now. 

The  reason  for  her  indignation  was  the  fact  that 
her  uncle's  visitor  was  an  extremely  presentable  young 
man.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  Olive  would  have  given 
the  captain  a  good  scolding,  and  would  then  have  taken 
her  revenge  by  making  fun  of  him  and  his  shipmate 's 
son.  But  now  she  felt  insulted  that  her  uncle  should 
conceal  from  her  the  fact  that  he  had  an  entirely 
proper  young  gentleman  for  a  visitor.  Could  he  think 
she  would  want  to  stay  at  his  house  to  be  with  that 
young  man  ?  Was  she  a  girl  from  whom  the  existence 
of  such  a  person  was  to  be  kept  secret  ?  She  was  very 
angry,  indeed,  and  her  headache  was  genuine. 

G9 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Captain  Asher  was  also  angry.  He  had  intended 
to  take  Olive  aside  and  tell  her  all  about  Dick  Lan 
caster,  and  how  he  had  refrained  from  saying  anything 
about  him  until  he  found  out  what  sort  of  a  young 
man  he  was.  If,  then,  she  saw  fit  to  scold  him,  he 
was  perfectly  willing  to  submit,  and  to  shake  hands 
all  around.  But  now  he  would  have  no  chance  to 
speak  to  her ;  she  had  not  treated  him  properly,  even 
if  she  had  a  headache.  He  admitted  to  himself  that 
she  was  young  and  probably  sensitive,  but  it  was  also 
true  that  he  was  sensitive,  although  old.  Therefore, 
he  was  angry. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  was  disturbed ;  she  saw  there  was 
something  wrong  between  Olive  and  her  uncle,  and 
she  did  not  like  it.  She  had  invited  Lancaster  with 
an  object,  and  she  did  not  wish  that  other  people's 
grievances  should  interfere  with  said  object.  Olive 
was  grumpy  up-stairs  and  Claude  Locker  was  in  the 
doleful  dumps  under  a  tree,  and  if  these  two  should 
grump  and  dump  together,  it  might  be  very  bad ;  con 
sequently,  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  more  anxious  than 
ever  that  there  should  be  at  least  two  young  men  at 
Broadstone. 

For  this  reason  she  asked  Lancaster  if  he  were 
fond  of  rowing ;  and  when  he  said  he  was,  she  invited 
him  to  join  them  in  a  boat  party  the  next  day  to  help 
her  and  Olive  pull  the  big  family  boat.  Mr.  Fox  did 
not  like  rowing,  and  Mr.  Locker  did  not  know  how. 

On  the  drive  home  Captain  Asher  and  Lancaster 
did  not  talk  much.  Even  the  young  man's  invitation 
to  the  rowing  party  did  not  excite  much  interest  in  the 
captain.  These  two  men  were  both  thinking  of  the 

70 


THE    CAPTAIN    IN    BAD    HUMOR 

same  girl;  one  pleasantly,  and  the  other  very  unpleas 
antly.  Dick  was  charmed  with  her,  although  he  had 
had  very  little  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  her,  but  he  hoped  for  better  luck  the  next  day. 

The  captain  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  her. 
He  felt  sure  that  she  was  at  fault,  and  that  he  was  at 
fault,  and  he  could  not  see  how  things  could  be  made 
straight  between  them.  Only  one  thing  seemed  plain 
to  him,  and  this  was  that,  with  things  as  they  were  at 
present,  she  was  not  likely  to  come  back  to  his  house ; 
and  this  would  not  be  necessary;  he  knew  very  well 
that  there  were  other  places  she  could  visit ;  and  that 
early  in  the  fall  her  father  would  be  home. 

Dick  Lancaster  walked  to  Broadstone  the  next 
morning  because  Captain  Asher  was  obliged  to  go  to 
Glenford  on  business,  but  the  young  man  did  not  in 
the  least  mind  a  six-mile  walk  on  a  fine  morning. 

All  the  way  to  Glenford  the  captain  thought  of 
Olive ;  sometimes  he  wished  she  had  never  come  to  him. 
Even  now,  with  Lancaster  to  talk  to,  he  missed  her 
grievously,  and  if  she  should  not  come  back,  the  case 
would  be  a  great  deal  worse  than  if  she  had  never 
come  at  all.  But  one  thing  was  certain :  If  she  re 
turned  as  the  young  lady  with  whom  he  had  lunched 
at  Broadstone,  he  did  not  want  her.  He  felt  that  he 
had  been  in  the  wrong,  that  she  had  been  in  the  wrong ; 
and  it  seemed  as  if  things  in  this  world  were  gradually 
going  wrong.  He  was  not  in  a  good  humor. 

When  he  stopped  his  mare  in  front  of  a  store,  Maria 
Port  stepped  up  to  him  and  said:  "  How  do  you  do, 
captain?  "What  have  you  done  with  your  young 
man?  " 

71 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

The  captain  got  down  from  his  buggy,  hitched  his 
mare  to  a  post,  and  then  shook  hands  with  Miss  Port. 

"  Dick  Lancaster  has  gone  boating  to-day  with  the 
Broadstone  people,"  he  said, 

"What!"  exclaimed  Miss  Port.  "  Gone  there 
again  already  ?  Why  it  was  only  yesterday  you  took 
dinner  with  them. ' ' 

"  Lunch/'  corrected  the  captain. 

"  Well,  you  may  call  it  what  you  please,"  said 
Maria,  "  but  I  call  it  dinner.  And  them  two's  to 
gether  without  you,  that  you  tried  so  hard  to  keep 
apart!  " 

"  I  did  not  try  anything  of  the  kind,"  said  the 
captain  a  little  sharply;  "  it  just  happened  so." 

"  Happened  so!  "  exclaimed  Miss  Port.  "  Well, 
I  must  say,  Captain  Asher,  that  you've  a  regular 
genius  for  makin'  things  happen.  The  minute  she 
goes,  he  comes.  I  wish  I  could  make  things  happen 
that  way." 

The  captain  took  no  notice  of  this  remark,  and 
moved  toward  the  door  of  the  store. 

"  Look  here,  captain,"  continued  Miss  Port, 
"  can't  you  come  and  take  dinner  with  us?  You 
haven't  seen  Pop  for  ever  so  long.  It  won't  be  lunch, 
though,  but  an  honest  dinner. ' ' 

The  captain  accepted  the  invitation;  for  old  Mr. 
Port  was  one  of  his  ancient  friends;  and  then  he  en 
tered  the  store.  Miss  Port  was  on  the  point  of  fol 
lowing  him;  she  had  something  to  say  about  Olive; 
but  she  stopped. 

"  I'll  keep  that  till  dinner-time,"  she  said  to 
herself. 

72 


THE    CAPTAIN    IN    BAD    HUMOR 

Old  Mr.  Port  had  always  been  a  very  pleasant  man 
to  visit,  and  he  had  not  changed  now,  although  he  was 
nearly  eighty  years  old.  He  had  been  a  successful 
merchant  in  the  days  when  Captain  Asher  commanded 
a  ship,  and  there  was  good  reason  to  believe  that  a  large 
measure  of  his  success  was  due  to  his  constant  desire 
to  make  himself  agreeable  to  the  people  with  whom  he 
came  in  business  contact.  He  was  just  as  agreeable  to 
his  friends,  of  whom  Captain  Asher  was  one  of  the 
oldest. 

The  people  of  Glenford  often  puzzled  themselves  as 
to  what  sort  of  a  woman  Maria's  mother  could  have 
been.  None  of  them  had  ever  seen  her,  for  she  had 
died  years  before  old  Mr.  Port  had  come  into  that 
healthful  region  to  reside ;  but  all  agreed  that  her  par 
ents  must  have  been  a  strangely  assorted  pair,  unless, 
indeed,  as  some  of  the  wiser  suggested,  she  got  her  dis 
position  from  a  grandparent. 

"  That  navy  niece  of  yours  must  be  a  wild  girl," 
said  Miss  Port  to  the  captain  as  she  carved  the  beef. 

* '  Wild !  ' '  exclaimed  the  captain.  ' '  I  never  saw 
anything  wild  about  her. ' ' 

"  Perhaps  not,"  said  his  hostess,  "  but  there's 
others  that  have.  It  was  only  three  days  ago  that 
she  took  that  young  man,  that  goggle-eyed  one,  out  on 
the  river  in  a  boat,  and  did  her  best  to  upset  him. 
Whether  she  stood  up  and  made  the  boat  rock  while  he 
clung  to  the  side,  or  whether  she  bumped  the  boat 
against  rocks  and  sand-bars,  laughin'  the  louder  the 
more  he  was  frightened,  I  wasn't  told.  But  she  did 
skeer  him  awful.  I  know  that." 

' '  You  seem  to  know  a  good  deal  about  what  is  going 
73 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

on  at  Broadstone,"  remarked  the  captain,  somewhat 
sarcastically. 

' '  Indeed  I  do, "  said  she ;  '  *  a  good  deal  more  than 
they  think.  They  've  got  such  fine  stomachs  that  they 
can't  eat  the  beef  they  get  at  the  gap,  and  Mr.  Morris 
goes  there  three  times  a  week,  all  the  way  from  Glen- 
ford,  to  take  them  Chicago  beef.  The  rest  of  the  time 
they  mostly  eat  chickens,  I  'm  told. ' ' 

'  *  And  so  your  butcher  takes  meat  and  brings  back 
news,"  said  the  captain.  "  The  next  time  he  passes 
the  toll-gate  I  will  tell  him  to  leave  the  news  with  me, 
and  I  will  see  that  it  is  properly  distributed."  And 
with  this,  he  began  to  talk  with  Mr.  Port. 

"  Oh,  you  needn't  be  so  snappish  about  her,"  in 
sisted  Maria.  "  If  you  are  in  that  temper  often,  I 
don 't  wonder  the  young  woman  wanted  to  go  away. ' ' 

The  captain  made  no  answer,  but  his  glance  at  the 
speaker  was  not  altogether  a  pleasant  one.  Old  Mr. 
Port  did  not  hear  very  well ;  but  his  eyesight  was  good, 
and  he  perceived  from  the  captain's  expression  that  his 
daughter  had  been  saying  something  sharp.  This  he 
never  allowed  at  his  table ;  and,  turning  to  her,  he  said 
gently,  but  firmly : 

"  Maria,  don't  you  think  you'd  better  go  up-stairs 
and  go  to  bed  ?  ' : 

"  He's  all  the  time  thinkin'  I'm  a  child,"  said  Miss 
Maria,  with  a  grin ;  ' '  but  how  awfully  he 's  mistook. ' ' 
Then  she  added :  *  *  Has  that  teacher  got  money  enough 
to  support  a  wife  when  he  marries  her?  I  don't  sup 
pose  his  salary  amounts  to  much.  I  'm  told  it 's  a  little 
bit  of  a  college  he  teaches  at." 

"  I  do  not  know  anything  about  his  salary,"  said 
74 


THE    CAPTAIN    IN    BAD    HUMOR 

the  captain,  and  again  attempted  to  continue  the  con 
versation  with  the  father. 

But  the  daughter  was  not  to  be  put  down.  ' '  When 
is  Olive  Asher  coming  back  to  your  house  ?  "she  asked. 

The  captain  turned  upon  her  with  a  frown.  "  I 
did  not  say  she  was  coming  back  at  all, ' '  he  snapped. 

Now  old  Mr.  Port  thought  it  time  for  him  to  inter 
fere.  To  him  Maria  had  always  been  a  young  person 
to  be  mildly  counseled,  but  to  be  firmly  punished  if  she 
did  not  obey  said  counsels.  It  was  evident  that  she 
was  now  annoying  his  old  friend;  Maria  had  a  great 
habit  of  annoying  people,  but  she  should  not  annoy 
Captain  Asher. 

"Maria,"  said  Mr.  Port,  "leave  the  table  in 
stantly,  and  go  to  bed." 

Miss  Port  smiled.  She  had  finished  her  dinner,  and 
she  folded  her  napkin  and  dusted  some  crumbs  from 
her  lap.  She  always  humored  her  father  when  he  was 
really  in  earnest ;  he  was  very  old  and  could  not  be 
expected  to  live  much  longer,  and  it  was  his  daughter's 
earnest  desire  that  she  should  be  in  good  favor  with 
him  when  he  died.  With  a  straight-cut  smile  at  the 
captain,  she  rose  and  left  the  two  old  friends  to  their 
talk,  and  went  out  on  the  front  piazza.  There  she 
saw  Mr.  Morris,  the  butcher,  on  his  way  home  with  an 
empty  wagon.  She  stepped  out  to  the  edge  of  the  side 
walk  and  stopped  him. 

' '  Been  to  Broadstone  ?  ' '  she  asked. 

1 1  Yes, ' '  said  the  butcher  with  a  sigh,  and  stopping 
his  horse.  Miss  Port  always  wanted  to  know  so  much 
about  Broadstone,  and  he  was  on  his  way  to  his  dinner. 

' '  Well, ' '  said  Miss  Port,  ' '  what  monkey  tricks  are 
75 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

going  on  there  now  ?  Has  anybody  been  drowned  yet  ? 
Did  you  see  that  young  man  that's  stayin'  at  the  toll- 
gate?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  butcher,  lt  I  saw  him  as  I  was 
crossing  the  bridge.  He  was  in  the  big  boat  helping  to 
row.  Pretty  near  the  whole  family  was  in  the  boat,  I 
take  it." 

'  *  That 's  like  them,  just  like  them !  ' '  she  exclaimed. 
"  The  next  thing  we'll  hear  will  be  that  they've  all 
gone  to  the  bottom  together.  I  don't  suppose  one  of 
them  can  swim.  Was  the  captain's  niece  standin'  up, 
or  sittin '  down  ?  ' : 

"  They  were  all  sitting  down,"  said  the  butcher, 
"  and  behaving  like  other  people  do  in  a  boat."  And 
he  prepared  to  go  on. 

* '  Stop  one  minute, ' '  said  Miss  Port.  * '  Of  course 
you  are  goin '  out  there  day  after  to-morrow  1  ' : 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Morris.  "  I'm  going  to-morrow. 
They've  ordered  some  extra  things."  Then  he  said, 
with  a  sort  of  conciliatory  grin,  "  I'll  get  some  more 
news,  and  have  more  time  to  tell  it." 

' '  Now,  don 't  be  in  such  a  hurry, ' '  said  Miss  Port, 
advancing  to  the  side  of  the  wagon.  "I  want  very 
much  to  go  to  Broadstone.  I  've  got  some  business  with 
that  Mrs.  Blynn  that  I  ought  to  have  attended  to  long 
ago.  Now,  why  can 't  I  ride  out  with  you  to-morrow  ? 
That's  a  pretty  broad  seat  you've  got." 

The  butcher  looked  at  her  in  dismay.  "  Oh,  I 
couldn't  do  that,  Miss  Port,"  he  said.  "  I  always 
have  a  heavy  load,  and  I  can't  take  passengers,  too." 

' '  Now,  what 's  the  sense  of  your  talkin '  like  that  1  ' ! 
said  Miss  Port.  "  You've  got  a  great  big  horse,  and 

76 


THE    CAPTAIN    IN    BAD    HUMOR 

plenty  of  room,  and  would  you  have  me  go  hire  a  car 
riage  and  a  driver  to  go  out  there  when  you  can  take  me 
just  as  well  as  not?  " 

The  butcher  thought  he  would  be  very  willing.  He 
did  not  care  for  her  society,  and,  moreover,  he  knew 
that  both  at  Broadstone  and  in  the  town  he  would  be 
ridiculed  when  it  should  be  known  that  he  had  been 
taking  Maria  Port  to  drive. 

"  Oh,  I  couldn't  do  it,"  he  replied.  "  Of  course, 
I'm  willing  to  oblige " 

"  Oh,  don't  worry  yourself  any  more,  Mr.  Mor 
ris,"  interrupted  Miss  Port.  "I'm  not  askin'  you  to 
take  me  now,  and  I  won't  keep  you  from  your  din 
ner?  " 

The  next  morning  as  Mr.  Morris,  the  butcher,  was 
driving  past  the  Port  house  at  rather  a  rapid  rate  for 
a  man  with  a  heavy  wagon,  Miss  Maria  appeared  at  her 
door  with  her  bonnet  on.  She  ran  out  into  the  middle 
of  the  street,  and  so  stationed  herself  that  Mr.  Morris 
was  obliged  to  stop.  Then,  without  speaking,  she 
clambered  up  to  the  seat  beside  him. 

"  Now,  you  see,"  said  she,  settling  herself  on  the 
leather  cushion,  "  I  've  kept  to  my  part  of  the  bargain, 
and  I  don 't  believe  your  horse  will  think  this  wagon  is 
a  bit  heavier  than  it  was  before  I  got  in.  What's  the 
name  of  the  new  people  that's  comin'  to  Broadstone  ?  " 


77 


CHAPTER    IX 

Miss  Port  takes  a  Drive  with  the  Butcher 

As  the  butcher  and  Miss  Port  drove  out  of  town  the 
latter  did  not  talk  quite  so  much  as  was  her  wont.  She 
seemed  to  have  something  on  her  mind,  and  presently 
she  proposed  to  Mr.  Morris  that  he  should  take  the 
shunpike  for  a  change. 

"  That  would  be  a  mile  and  a  half  out  of  my 
way!  "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  can't  do  it." 

"  I  should  think  you'd  get  awfully  tired  of  this 
same  old  road, ' '  said  she. 

"  The  easiest  road  is  the  one  I  like  every  time," 
said  Mr.  Morris,  who  was  also  not  inclined  to  talk. 

Miss  Port  did  not  care  to  pass  the  toll-gate  that 
day ;  she  was  afraid  she  might  see  the  captain,  and  that 
in  some  way  or  other  he  would  interfere  with  her  trip, 
but  fortune  favored  her,  as  it  nearly  always  did.  Old 
Jane  came  to  the  gate,  and  as  this  stolid  old  woman 
never  asked  any  questions,  Miss  Port  contented  herself 
with  bidding  her  good  morning,  and  sitting  silent  dur 
ing  the  process  of  making  change. 

This  self-restraint  very  much  surprised  old  Jane, 
who  straightway  informed  the  captain  that  Miss  Port 
was  riding  with  the  butcher  to  Broadstone — she  knew 
it  was  Broadstone,  for  he  had  no  other  customers  that 

78 


MISS    PORT    TAKES    A    DRIVE 

way — and  she  guessed  something  must  be  the  matter 
with  her,  for  she  kept  her  mouth  shut,  and  didn  't  say 
nothing  to  nobody. 

As  the  wagon  moved  011  Miss  Port  heaved  a 
sigh.  Fearful  that  she  might  see  the  captain  some 
where,  she  had  not  even  allowed  herself  to  survey 
the  premises  in  order  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  ship 
mate's  son.  This  was  a  rare  piece  of  self-denial 
in  Maria,  but  she  could  do  that  sort  of  thing  on 
occasion. 

When  the  butcher's  wagon  neared  the  Broadstone 
house  Miss  Port  promptly  got  down,  and  Mr.  Morris 
went  to  the  kitchen  regions  by  himself.  She  never 
allowed  herself  to  enter  a  house  by  the  back  or  side 
door,  so  now  she  went  to  the  front,  where,  disappointed 
at  not  seeing  any  of  the  family  although  she  had 
made  good  use  of  her  eyes,  she  was  obliged  to  ask  a 
servant  to  conduct  her  to  Mrs.  Blynn.  Before  she  had 
had  time  to  calculate  the  cost  of  the  rug  in  the  hall,  or 
to  determine  whether  the  walls  were  calcimined  or 
merely  whitewashed,  she  found  herself  with  that  good 
lady. 

Miss  Port's  business  with  Mrs.  Blynn  indicated  a 
peculiar  intelligence  on  the  part  of  the  visitor.  It  was 
based  upon  very  little ;  it  had  not  much  to  do  with 
anything;  it  amounted  to  almost  nothing;  and  yet  it 
appeared  to  contain  certain  elements  of  importance 
which  made  Mrs.  Blynn  give  it  her  serious  considera 
tion. 

After  she  had  talked  and  peered  about  as  long  as 
she  thought  was  necessary,  Maria  said  she  was  afraid 
Mr.  Morris  would  be  waiting  for  her,  and  quickly  took 

79 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

her  leave,  begging  Mrs.  Blynn  not  to  trouble  herself  to 
accompany  her  to  the  door.  When  she  left  the  house 
Maria  did  not  seek  the  butcher 's  wagon,  but  started  out 
on  a  little  tour  of  observation  through  the  grounds. 
She  was  quite  sure  Mr.  Morris  was  waiting  for  her,  but 
for  this  she  did  care  a  snap  of  her  finger ;  he  would  not 
dare  to  go  and  leave  her.  Presently  she  perceived  a 
young  gentleman  approaching  her,  and  she  recognized 
him  instantly — it  was  the  goggle-eyed  man  who  had 
been  described  to  her.  Stepping  quickly  toward  Mr. 
Locker,  she  asked  him  if  he  could  tell  her  where  she 
could  find  Miss  Asher;  she  had  been  told  she  was  in 
the  grounds. 

The  young  man  goggled  his  eye  a  little  more  than 
usual.  "  Do  you  know  her?  "  said  he. 

' '  Oh,  yes, ' '  replied  Maria ;  * '  I  met  her  at  the  house 
of  her  uncle,  Captain  Asher." 

11  And,  knowing  her,  you  want  to  see  her?  ': 

Astonished,  Miss  Port  replied,  ' '  Of  course. ' ' 

' '  Very  well,  then, ' '  said  he ;  * '  beyond  that  clump 
of  bushes  is  a  seat.  She  sits  thereon.  Accept  my  con 
dolences." 

"  I  will  remember  every  word  of  that,"  said  Miss 
Port  to  herself, ' '  but  I  haven 't  time  to  think  of  it  now. 
He 's  just  ravin '. ' ' 

Olive  had  just  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  Locker 
which,  in  her  eyes,  had  been  entirely  too  protracted, 
and  she  had  sent  him  away.  He  had  just  made  her  an 
offer  of  marriage,  but  she  had  refused  even  to  consider 
it,  assuring  him  that  her  mind  was  occupied  with  other 
things.  She  was  busy  thinking  of  those  other  things 
when  she  heard  footsteps  near  her. 

80 


MISS    PORT    TAKES    A    DRIVE 

'  *  How  do  you  do  ?  "  said  Miss  Port,  extending  her 
hand. 

Olive  rose,  but  she  put  her  hands  behind  her  back. 

"  Oh!  "  said  Miss  Port,  dropping  her  hand,  but 
allowing  herself  no  verbal  resentment.  She  had  come 
there  for  information,  and  she  did  not  wish  to  inter 
fere  with  her  own  business.  ' '  I  happened  to  be  here, ' ' 
she  said,  "  and  I  thought  I'd  come  and  tell  you  how 
your  uncle  is.  He  took  dinner  with  us  yesterday,  and 
I  was  sorry  to  see  he  didn't  have  much  appetite.  But 
I  suppose  he's  failin',  as  most  people  do  when  they  get 
to  his  age.  I  thought  you  might  have  some  message 
you  'd  like  to  send  him. ' ' 

' '  Thank  you, ' '  said  Olive  with  more  than  sufficient 
coldness, ' '  but  I  have  no  message. ' ' 

"  Oh!  "  said  Miss  Port.  "  You're  in  a  fine  place 
here,"  she  continued,  looking  about  her,  "  very  dif 
ferent  from  the  toll-gate;  and  I  expect  the  Easter- 
fields  has  everything  they  want  that  money  can  more 
than  pay  for. ' '  Having  delivered  this  little  shot  at  the 
reported  extravagance  of  the  lady  of  the  manor,  she 
remarked:  "  I  don't  wonder  you  don't  want  to  go 
back  to  your  uncle,  and  run  out  to  take  the  toll.  It 
must  have  been  a  very  great  change  to  you  if  you're 
used  to  this  sort  of  thing. ' ' 

"  Who  said  I  was  not  going  back?  "  asked  Olive 
sharply. 

"  Your  uncle,"  said  Miss  Port.  "  He  told  me  at 
our  house.  Of  course,  he  didn't  go  into  no  particulars, 
but  that  isn't  to  be  expected,  he's  not  the  kind  of  man 
to  do  that." 

Olive  stood  and  looked  at  this  smooth-faced,  flat- 
81 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

mouthed  spinster.  She  was  pale,  she  trembled  a  lit 
tle,  but  she  spoke  no  word ;  she  was  a  girl  who  did  not 
go  into  particulars,  especially  with  a  person  such  as 
this  woman  standing  before  her. 

Miss  Port  did  not  wish  to  continue  the  conversa 
tion;  she  generally  knew  when  she  had  said  enough. 
"  Well,"  she  remarked,  "  as  you  haven't  no  message 
to  send  to  your  uncle,  I  might  as  well  go.  But  I  did 
think  that  as  I  wras  right  on  my  way,  you'd  have  at 
least  a  word  for  him.  Good  mornin '. ' '  And  with  this 
she  promptly  walked  away  to  join  Mr.  Morris,  cata 
loguing  in  her  mind  as  she  went  the  foolish  and  lazy 
hammocks  and  garden  chairs,  the  slow  motions  of  a 
man  who  was  sweeping  leaves  from  the  broad  stone, 
and  various  other  evidences  of  bad  management  and 
probable  downfall  which  met  her  eyes  in  every  direc 
tion. 

When  Miss  Port  approached  the  toll-gate  on  her 
return  she  was  very  anxious  to  stop,  and  hoped  that  the 
captain  would  be  at  the  gate.  Fortune  favored  her 
again,  and  there  he  stood  in  the  doorway  of  the  little 
tollhouse. 

"  Oh,  captain,"  she  exclaimed,  extending  herself 
somewhat  over  the  butcher's  knees  in  order  to  speak 
more  effectively,  "  I've  been  to  Broadstone,  and  I've 
seen  your  niece.  She's  dressed  up  just  like  the  other 
fine  folks  there,  and  she's  stiff er  than  any  of  them,  I 
guess.  I  didn't  see  Mrs.  Easterfield,  although  I  did 
want  to  get  a  chance  to  tell  her  what  I  thought  about 
her  plantin'  weeds  in  her  garden,  and  spreadin'  new 
kinds  of  seeds  over  this  country,  which  goes  to  weeds 
fast  enough  in  the  natural  way.  As  to  your  niece,  I 

82 


MISS    PORT    TAKES    A    DRIVE 

must  say  she  didn't  show  me  no  extra  civility,  and 
when  I  asked  her  if  she  had  any  message  for  you,  she 
said  she  hadn  't  a  word  to  say. ' ' 

The  captain  was  not  in  the  least  surprised  to  hear 
that  Olive  had  not  treated  Miss  Port  with  extra  civility. 
He  remembered  his  niece  treating  this  prying  gossip 
with  positive  rudeness,  and  he  had  been  somewhat 
amused  by  it,  although  he  had  always  believed  that 
young  people  should  be  respectful  to  their  elders.  He 
did  not  care  to  talk  about  Olive  with  Miss  Port,  but 
he  had  to  say  something,  and  so  he  asked  if  she  seemed 
to  be  having  a  good  time. 

"  If  settin'  behind  bushes  with  young  men,  and 
goggle-eyed  ones  at  that,  is  havin'  a  good  time/'  re 
plied  Miss  Port,  "  I'm  sure  she's  enjoyin'  herself." 
And  then,  as  she  caught  sight  of  Lancaster:  "  I  sup 
pose  that's  the  young  man  who's  visitin'  you.  .1  hope 
he  makes  his  scholars  study  harder  than  he  does.  He 
isn't  readin'  his  book  at  all ;  he's  just  starin'  at  nothin'. 
You  might  be  polite  enough  to  bring  him  out  and  intro 
duce  him,  captain,"  she  added  in  a  somewhat  milder 
tone. 

The  captain  did  not  answer;  in  fact,  he  had  not 
heard  all  that  Miss  Port  had  said  to  him.  If  Olive  had 
refused  to  send  him  a  word,  even  the  slightest  message, 
she  must  be  a  girl  of  very  stubborn  resentments,  and  he 
was  sorry  to  hear  it.  He  himself  was  beginning  to  get 
over  his  resentment  at  her  treatment  of  him  at  the 
Broadstone  luncheon,  and  if  she  had  been  of  his  turn 
of  mind  everything  might  have  been  smoothed  over  in 
a  very  short  time. 

' '  Well  ?  ' '  remarked  Maria  in  an  inquiring  tone. 
8  83 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  Excuse  me,"  said  the  captain,  "  what  were  you 
saying?  ': 

Miss  Maria  settled  herself  in  her  seat.  "  If  you 
and  that  young  man  wastin'  his  time  in  the  garden 
can't  keep  your  wits  from  wool-gatherin ',' '  said  she, 
' '  I  hope  old  Jane  has  got  sense  enough  to  go  on  with 
the  housekeepin '.  I'll  call  again  when  you've  sent 
your  young  man  away,  and  got  your  young  woman 
back." 

Maria  said  little  to  the  taciturn  butcher  on  their 
way  to  Glenford,  but  she  smiled  a  good  deal  to  herself. 
For  years  it  had  been  the  desire  of  her  life  to  go  to  live 
in  the  toll-gate — not  with  any  idea  of  ousting  Captain 
Asher — oh,  no,  by  no  means.  Old  Mr.  Port  could  not 
live  much  longer,  and  his  daughter  would  not  care  to 
reside  in  the  Glenford  house  by  herself.  But  the  toll- 
gate  would  exactly  suit  her ;  there  was  life ;  there  was 
passing  to  and  fro ;  there  was  money  enough  for  good 
living  and  good  clothes  without  any  encroachment  on 
whatever  her  father  might  leave  her;  and,  above  all, 
there  was  the  captain,  good  for  twenty  years  yet,  in 
spite  of  his  want  of  appetite,  which  she  had  mentioned 
to  his  niece.  This  would  be  a  settlement  which  would 
suit  her  in  every  way,  but  so  long  as  that  niece  lived 
there,  there  would  be  no  hope  of  it;  even  the  ship 
mate  's  son  would  be  in  the  way.  But  she  supposed  he 
would  soon  be  off. 


84 


CHAPTER    X 
Mrs.  Easterfield  writes  a  Letter 

WHEX  Miss  Port  had  left  her,  Olive  was  so  much 
disturbed  by  what  that  placid  spinster  had  told  her 
that  she  totally  forgot  Claude  Locker's  proposal  of  mar 
riage,  as  well  as  the  other  things  she  had  been  think 
ing  about.  These  things  had  been  not  at  all  unpleas 
ant  ;  she  had  been  thinking  of  her  uncle  and  her  return 
to  the  toll-gate  house.  Her  visit  to  Broadstone  was 
drawing  to  a  close,  and  she  was  getting  very  tired  of 
Mr.  Locker  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox.  She  found,  now 
her  anger  had  cooled  down,  that  she  was  actually 
missing  her  uncle,  and  was  thinking  of  him  as  of 
some  one  who  belonged  to  her.  Her  own  father  had 
never  seemed  to  belong  to  her;  for  periods  of  three 
years  he  was  away  on  his  ship  ;  and,  even  when  he  had 
been  on  shore  duty,  she  had  sometimes  been  at  school ; 
and  when  she  and  her  parents  had  been  stationed 
somewhere  together,  the  lieutenant  had  been  a  good 
deal  away  from  home  on  this  or  that  naval  business. 
When  a  girl  she  had  taken  these  absences  as  a  matter 
of  course,  but  since  she  had  been  living  with  her 
uncle  her  ideas  on  the  subject  had  changed.  She 
wanted  now  to  be  at  home  with  him ;  and  as  Broad- 
stone  was  so  near  the  toll-gate  she  had  no  doubt  that 

85 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Mrs.  Easterfield  would  sometimes  want  her  to  come  to 
her  when,  perhaps,  she  would  have  different  people 
staying  with  her. 

This  was  a  very  pleasant  mental  picture,  and  the 
more  Olive  had  looked  at  it,  the  better  she  had  liked  it. 
As  to  the  reconciliation  with  her  uncle,  it  troubled  her 
mind  but  little.  So  often  had  she  been  angry  with  peo 
ple,  and  so  often  had  everything  been  made  all  right 
again,  that  she  felt  used  to  the  process.  Her  way  was 
simple  enough ;  when  she  was  tired  of  her  indignation 
she  quietly  dropped  it ;  and  then,  taking  it  for  granted 
that  the  other  party  had  done  the  same,  she  recom 
menced  her  usual  friendly  intercourse,  just  as  if  there 
had  never  been  a  quarrel  or  misunderstanding.  She 
had  never  found  this  method  to  fail — although,  of 
course,  it  might  easily  have  failed  with  one  who  wras 
not  Olive — and  she  had  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  if 
she  wrote  to  her  uncle  that  she  \vas  coming  on  a  cer 
tain  day,  she  would  be  gladly  received  by  him  when 
she  should  arrive. 

But  now?  After  what  that  woman  had  told  her, 
what  now  ?  If  her  uncle  had  said  she  was  not  coming 
back,  there  was  an  end  to  her  mental  pictures  and  her 
pleasant  plans.  And  what  a  hard  man  he  must  be  to 
say  that ! 

Slowly  walking  over  the  grass,  Olive  went  to  look 
for  Mrs.  Easterfield,  and  found  her  in  her  garden 
on  her  knees  by  a  flower-bed  digging  with  a  little 
trowel. 

11  Mrs.  Easterfield,"  said  she,  "  I  am  thinking  of 
getting  married." 

The  elder  lady  sprang  to  her  feet,  dropping  her 
8G 


MRS.    EASTERFIELD    WRITES 

trowel,   which  barely   missed   her  toes.     She   looked 
frightened.    "  What?  "  she  exclaimed.  "  To  whom?  " 

"  Not  to  anybody  in  particular,"  replied  Olive. 
"  I  am  considering  the  subject  in  general.  Let's  go 
sit  on  that  bench,  and  talk  about  it. ' ' 

A  little  relieved,  Mrs.  Easterneld  followed  her. 
'  *  I  don 't  know  what  you  mean, ' '  she  said,  when  they 
were  seated.  "  Women  don't  think  of  marriage  in  a 
general  way ;  they  consider  it  in  a  particular  way." 

"  Oh,  I  am  different,"  said  Olive;  "  I  am  a  navy 
girl,  and  more  like  a  man.  I  have  to  look  out  for  my 
self.  I  think  it  is  time  I  was  married,  and  therefore 
I  am  giving  the  subject  attention.  Don't  you  think 
that  is  prudent  ?  ' : 

"  And  you  say  you  have  no  particular  leanings?  " 
the  other  inquired. 

1  i  None  whatever, ' '  said  Olive.  ' '  Mr.  Locker  pro 
posed  to  me  less  than  an  hour  ago,  but  I  gave  him  no 
answer.  He  is  too  precipitate,  and  he  is  only  one  per 
son,  anyway." 

"  You  don't  want  to  marry  more  than  one  per 
son!  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easterneld. 

"  No,"  said  Olive,  "  but  I  want  more  than  one  to 
choose  from." 

Mrs.  Easterneld  did  not  understand  the  girl  at  all. 
But  this  was  not  to  be  expected  so  soon ;  she  must  wait 
a  little,  and  find  out  more.  Notwithstanding  her  ap 
parent  indifference  to  Claude  Locker,  there  was  more 
danger  in  that  direction  than  Mrs.  Easterfield  had 
supposed.  A  really  persistent  lover  is  often  very  dan 
gerous,  no  matter  how  indifferent  a  young  woman 
may  be. 

87 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  Have  you  been  considering  the  professor?  "  she 
asked,  with  a  smile.  "  I  noticed  that  you  were  very 
gracious  to  him  yesterday." 

"  No,  I  haven't,"  said  Olive.  "  But  I  suppose  I 
might  as  well.  I  did  try  to  make  him  have  a  good 
time,  but  I  was  still  a  little  provoked  and  felt  that  I 
would  like  him  to  go  back  to  my  uncle  and  tell  him 
that  he  had  enjoyed  himself.  But  now  I  suppose  I 
must  consider  all  the  eligibles." 

"  Why  now?  "  asked  Mrs.  Easterfield  quickly; 
1  i  why  now  more  than  any  previous  time  ?  ' : 

Olive  did  not  immediately  answer,  but  presently 
she  said :  '  *  I  am  not  going  back  to  my  uncle.  There 
was  a  woman  here  just  now — I  don 't  know  whether  she 
was  sent  or  not — who  informed  me  that  he  did  not 
expect  me  to  return  to  his  house.  When  my  mother 
was  living  we  were  great  companions  for  each  other, 
but  now  you  see  I  am  left  entirely  alone.  It  will  be  a 
good  while  before  father  comes  back,  and  then  I  don 't 
know  whether  he  can  settle  down  or  not.  Besides,  I 
am  not  very  well  acquainted  with  him,  but  I  sup 
pose  that  would  arrange  itself  in  time.  So  you  see 
all  I  can  do  is  to  visit  about  until  I  am  married, 
and  therefore  the  sooner  I  am  married  and  settled 
the  better." 

"  Perhaps  this  is  a  cold-blooded  girl!  "  said  Mrs. 
Easterfield  to  herself.  "But  perhaps  it  is  not!': 
Then,  speaking  aloud,  she  said :  '  *  Olive  Asher,  were 
you  ever  in  love?  " 

The  girl  looked  at  her  with  reflective  eyes. 
"  Yes,"  she  said.  "  I  was  once,  but  that  was  the 
only  time." 

88 


MRS.    EASTERFIELD    WRITES 

"  Would  you  mind  telling  me  about  it?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Easterfield. 

"  Not  at  all/'  replied  the  girl.  "  I  was  between 
thirteen  and  fourteen,  and  wore  short  dresses,  and  my 
hair  was  plaited.  My  father  was  on  duty  at  the 
Philadelphia  Navy- Yard,  and  we  lived  in  that  city. 
There  was  a  young  man  who  used  to  come  to  bring 
messages  to  father;  I  think  he  was  a  clerk  or  a 
draftsman.  I  do  not  remember  his  name,  except 
that  his  first  name  was  Rupert,  and  father  always 
called  him  by  that.  He  was  a  beautiful  man-boy  or 
boy-man,  however  you  choose  to  put  it.  His  eyes  were 
heavenly  blue,  his  skin  was  smooth  and  white,  his 
cheeks  were  red,  and  he  had  the  most  charming  mouth 
I  ever  saw.  He  was  just  the  right  height,  well  shaped, 
and  wore  the  most  becoming  clothes.  I  fell  madly  in 
love  with  him  the  second  time  I  saw  him,  and  con 
tinued  so  for  a  long  time.  I  used  to  think  about  him 
and  dream  about  him,  and  write  little  poems  about  him 
which  nobody  ever  saw.  I  tried  to  make  a  sketch  of 
his  face  once,  but  I  failed  and  tore  it  up." 

"  What  did  he  do?  "  asked  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

1  '  Nothing  whatever, ' '  said  Olive.  ' '  I  never  spoke 
to  him,  or  he  to  me.  I  don't  believe  he  ever  noticed 
me.  Whenever  I  could  I  went  into  the  room  where  he 
was  talking  to  father,  but  I  was  very  quiet  and  kept  in 
the  background,  and  I  do  not  think  his  eyes  ever  fell 
upon  me.  But  that  did  not  make  any  difference  at  all. 
He  was  beautiful  above  all  other  men  in  the  world, 
and  I  loved  him.  He  was  my  first,  my  only  love,  and 
it  almost  brings  tears  in  my  eyes  now  to  think  of 
him." 

89 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Then  you  really  could  love  the  right  person  if  he 
were  to  come  along/'  said  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

' '  Why  do  you  think  I  couldn  't  1  Of  course  I  could. 
But  the  trouble  is  he  doesn't  come,  so  I  must  try  to 
arrange  the  matter  with  what  material  I  have. ' ' 

When  Mrs.  Easterfield  left  the  garden  she  went 
rapidly  to  her  room.  There  was  a  smile  on  her  lips, 
and  a  light  in  her  eye.  A  novel  idea  had  come  to  her 
which  amused  her,  pleased  her,  and  even  excited  her. 
She  sat  down  at  her  writing-table  and  began  a  letter 
to  her  husband.  After  an  opening  paragraph  she 
wrote  thus: 

11  Is  not  Mr.  Hemphill,  of  the  central  office  of  the 
D.  and  J.,  named  Rupert  1  It  is  my  impression  that 
he  is.  You  know  he  has  been  to  our  house  several 
times  to  dinner  when  you  invited  railroad  people,  and 
I  remember  him  very  well.  If  his  name  is  Rupert  will 
you  find  out,  without  asking  him  directly,  whether  or 
not  he  was  engaged  about  seven  years  ago  at  the  navy- 
yard.  I  am  almost  positive  I  once  had  a  conversation 
with  him  about  the  navy-yard  and  the  moving  of  one 
of  the  great  buildings  there.  If  you  find  that  he  had 
a  position  there,  don't  ask  him  any  more  questions,  and 
drop  the  subject  as  quickly  as  you  can.  But  I  then 
want  you  to  send  him  here  on  whatever  pretext  you 
please — you  can  send  me  any  sort  of  an  important  mes 
sage  or  package — and  if  I  find  it  desirable,  I  shall  ask 
him  to  stay  here  a  few  days.  These  hard-worked  secre 
taries  ought  to  have  more  vacations.  In  f aet,  I  have  a 
very  interesting  scheme  in  mind,  of  which  I  shall  say 
nothing  now  for  fear  you  may  think  it  necessary  to 
reason  about  it.  By  the  time  you  come  it  will  have 

90 


MRS.    EASTERFIELD    WRITES 

been  worked  out,  and  I  will  tell  you  all  about  it. 
Now,  don't  fail  to  send  Mr.  Hemphill  as  promptly  as 
possible,  if  you  find  his  name  is  Rupert,  and  that  he 
has  ever  been  engaged  in  the  navy-yard. ' ' 

This  letter  was  then  sent  to  the  post-office  at  the 
gap  with  an  immediate-delivery  stamp  on  it. 

When  Mrs.  Easterfield  went  down-stairs,  her  face 
still  glowing  with  the  pleasure  given  by  the  writing  of 
her  letter,  she  met  Claude  Locker,  whose  face  did  not 
glow  with  pleasure. 

' '  What  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  ' '  she  asked. 

"  I  feel  like  a  man  who  has  been  half  decapitated, " 
said  he.  "  I  do  not  know  whether  the  execution  is  to 
be  arrested  and  my  wound  healed,  or  whether  it  is  to 
go  on  and  my  head  roll  into  the  dust. ' ' 

"  A  horrible  idea!  "  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  What 
do  you  really  mean  1  ' : 

* '  I  have  proposed  to  Miss  Asher  and  I  was  treated 
with  indifference,  but  have  not  been  discarded.  Don't 
you  see  that  I  can  not  live  in  this  condition?  I  am 
looking  for  her." 

' '  It  will  be  a  great  deal  better  for  you  to  leave  her 
alone,"  replied  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  If  she  has  any 
answer  for  you  she  will  give  it  when  she  is  ready. 
Perhaps  she  is  trying  to  make  up  her  mind,  and  you 
may  spoil  all  by  intruding  yourself  upon  her. ' ' 

"  That  will  not  do  at  all,"  said  Locker,  "  not  at  all. 
The  more  Miss  Asher  sees  of  me  in  an  unengaged  con 
dition  the  less  she  will  like  me.  I  am  fully  aware  of 
this.  I  know  that  my  general  aspect  must  be  very  un 
pleasant,  so  if  I  expect  any  success  whatever,  the 
quicker  I  get  this  thing  settled  the  better. ' ' 

91 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"Even  if  she  refuses  you,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered;  "  then  down  comes  the  axe 
again,  away  goes  my  head,  and  all  is  over!  Then 
there  is  another  thing,"  he  said,  without  giving  Mrs. 
Easterfield  a  chance  to  speak.  "  There  is  that  mathe 
matical  person.  When  will  he  be  here  again1?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  replied  Mrs.  Easterfield;  "he 
has  merely  a  general  invitation. ' ' 

"  I  don't  like  him,"  said  Locker.  "  He  has  been 
here  twice,  and  that  is  two  times  too  many.  I  hate 
him." 

"  Why  so?  " 

' '  Because  he  is  unobjectionable, ' '  Locker  answered, 
"  and  I  am  very  much  afraid  Miss  Asher  likes  unob 
jectionable' people.  Now  I  am  objectionable — I  know 
it — and  the  longer  I  remain  unengaged  the  more  ob 
jectionable  I  shall  become.  I  wish  you  would  invite 
nobody  but  such  people  as  the  Foxes. ' ' 

14  Why?  " 

"  Because  they  are  married,"  replied  Locker. 
' '  But  I  must  not  wait  here.  Can  you  tell  me  where  I 
shall  be  likely  to  find  her?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  she  is  with  the 
Foxes,  and  they  are  married. ' ' 


92 


CHAPTER    XI 

Mr.  Locker  is  released  on  Bail 

NEARLY  the  whole  of  that  morning  Dick  Lancaster 
sat  in  the  arbor  in  the  tollhouse  garden,  his  book  in  his 
hand.  Part  of  the  time  he  was  thinking  about  what 
he  would  like  to  do,  and  part  of  the  time  he  was  think 
ing  about  what  he  ought  to  do.  He  felt  sure  he  had 
stayed  with  the  captain  as  long  as  he  had  been  ex 
pected  to,  but  he  did  not  want  to  go  away.  On  the 
contrary,  he  greatly  desired  to  remain  within  walking 
distance  of  Broadstone.  He  was  in  love  with  Olive. 
When  he  had  seen  her  at  luncheon,  cold  and  reserved, 
he  had  been  greatly  impressed  by  her,  and  when  lie 
went  out  boating  with  her  the  next  day  he  gave  her  his 
heart  unreservedly.  When  people  fell  in  love  with 
Olive  they  always  did  it  promptly. 

As  he  sat,  with  Olive  standing  near  the  footlights 
of  his  mental  stage  and  the  drop-curtain  hanging  be 
tween  her  and  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  the  captain 
strolled  up  to  him. 

"  Dick,"  said  he,  "  somehow  or  other  my  tobacco 
does  not  taste  as  it  ought  to.  Give  me  a  pipeful  of 
yours. ' ' 

When  the  captain  had  filled  his  pipe  from  Dick's 
bag  he  lighted  it  and  gave  a  few  puffs.  "  It  isn't  a 

93 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

bit  better  than  mine."  said  he,  "  but  I  will  keep  on 
and  smoke  it.  Dick,  let 's  go  and  take  a  walk  over  the 
hills.  I  feel  rather  stupid  to-day.  And,  by  the  way,  I 
hope  you  will  be  able  to  stay  with  me  for  the  rest  of 
your  vacation.  Have  you  made  plans  to  go  anywhere 
else?  " 

'  *  No  plans  of  the  slightest  importance, ' '  answered 
Lancaster  with  joyous  vivacity.  ' '  I  shall  be  delighted 
to  stay." 

This  prompt  acceptance  somewhat  surprised  the 
captain.  He  had  spoken  without  premeditation,  and 
without  thinking  of  anything  at  all  except  that  he  did 
not  want  everybody  to  go  away  and  leave  him.  He 
had  begun  to  know  something  of  the  pleasures  of  fam 
ily  life ;  of  having  some  one  to  sit  at  the  table  with  him ; 
to  whom  he  could  talk-,  on  whom  he  could  look.  In 
fact,  although  he  did  not  exactly  appreciate  such  a 
state  of  things,  some  one  he  could  love.  He  was  get 
ting  really  fond  of  Dick  Lancaster. 

As  for  Olive,  he  did  not  know  what  to  think  of  her ; 
sometimes  he  was  sure  she  was  not  coming  back,  and 
at  other  times  he  thought  it  likely  he  might  get  a  let 
ter  that  very  day  appointing  the  time  for  her  return. 
He  stood  puffing  his  pipe  and  thinking  about  this 
after  Dick  had  spoken. 

"  But  it  does  not  matter,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"  which  way  it  happens.  If  she  doesn't  come  I  want 
him  here,  and  if  she  does  come,  he  is  good  enough  for 
anybody,  and  perhaps  she  may  be  pleased."  And 
then  he  indulged  in  a  little  fragment  of  the  dream 
which  had  come  to  him  before ;  he  saw  two  young  peo 
ple  in  a  charming  home,  not  at  the  toll-gate,  and  him- 

94 


MR.    LOCKER    IS    RELEASED 

self  living  with  them.  Plenty  of  money  for  all  mod 
erate  needs,  and  all  happy  and  satisfied.  Then  with  a 
sigh  he  knocked  the  tobacco  from  his  pipe  and  said  to 
himself :  "  If  I  hear  she  is  coming,  I  will  let  her  know 
he  is  still  here,  and  then  she  must  judge  for  herself. ' ' 

As  they  walked  together  over  the  hills,  Dick  Lan 
caster  was  very  anxious  to  know  something,  about 
Olive 's  return,  but  he  did  not  like  to  ask.  The  captain 
had  been  very  reticent  on  the  subject  of  his  niece,  and 
Dick  was  a  gentleman.  But  to  his  surprise,  and  very 
much  to  his  delight,  the  captain  soon  began  to  talk 
about  Olive.  He  told  Dick  how  his  brother  had  en 
tered  the  navy  when  the  elder  was  first  mate  on  a 
merchant  vessel ;  how  Alfred  had  risen  in  the  service ; 
had  married ;  and  how  his  wife  and  daughter  had  lived 
in  various  parts  of  the  world.  Then  he  spoke  of  a 
good  many  things  he  had  heard  about  Olive,  and  other 
things  he  had  found  out  since  she  had  lived  with  him ; 
and  as  he  went  on  his  heart  warmed,  and  Dick  Lancas 
ter  listened  with  as  warm  a  heart  as  that  from  which 
the  captain  spoke. 

And  thus  they  walked  over  the  hills,  this  young 
man  and  this  elderly  man,  each  in  love  with  the  same 
girl. 

During  all  the  walk  Dick  never  asked  when  Miss 
Asher  was  coming  back  to  the  tollhouse,  nor  did  Cap 
tain  Asher  make  any  remarks  upon  the  subject.  It 
was  not  really  of  vital  importance  to  Dick,  as  Broad- 
stone  was  so  near,  and  it  was  of  such  vital  importance 
to  the  captain  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  speak 
of  it. 

The  next  day  the  bright-hearted  Richard  trod  buoy- 
95 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

antly  upon  the  earth ;  he  did  not  care  to  read ;  he  did 
not  want  to  smoke ;  and  he  was  not  much  inclined  to 
conversation ;  he  was  simply  buoyant,  and  undecided. 
The  captain  looked  at  him  and  smiled. 

"Why  don't  you  walk  over  to  Broadstone?  "  he 
said.  "  It  will  do  you  good.  I  want  you  to  stay  with 
me,  but  I  don't  expect  you  to  be  stuck  down  to  this  toll 
house  all  day.  I  am  going  about  the  farm  to-day,  but 

I  shall  expect  you  to  supper. ' ' 

When  he  was  ready  to  start  Dick  Lancaster  felt  a 
little  perplexed.  His  ideas  of  friendly  civility  im 
pelled  him  to  ask  the  captain  if  there  was  anything  he 
could  do  for  him,  if  there  was  any  message  or  missive 
he  could  take  to  his  niece,  or  anything  he  could  bring 
from  her,  but  he  was  prudent  and  refrained ;  if  the 
captain  wished  service  of  this  sort  he  was  a  man  to 
ask  for  it. 

The  first  person  Dick  met  at  Broadstone  was  Mrs. 
Easterfield,  cutting  roses. 

' '  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you,  Professor  Lancaster, ' ' 
said  she,  as  she  put  down  her  roses  and  her  scissors. 
"  Would  you  mind,  before  you  enter  into  the  general 
Broadstone  society,  sitting  down  on  this  bench  and 
talking  a  little  to  me?  " 

Dick  could  not  help  smiling.  Wrhat  man  in  the 
world,  even  if  he  were  in  love  with  somebody  else, 
could  object  to  sitting  down  by  such  a  woman  and 
talking  to  her? 

"  What  I  am  going  to  say,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield, 

II  is   impertinent,   unwarranted,   and   of   an   officious 
character.     You  and  I  know  each  other  very  slightly ; 
neither  of  us  has  long  been  acquainted  with  Captain 

9G 


MR.    LOCKER    IS    RELEASED 

Asher,  you  have  met  his  niece  but  twice,  and  I  have 
never  really  known  her  until  what  you  might  call  the 
other  day.  But  in  spite  of  all  this,  I  propose  that  you 
and  I  shall  meddle  a  little  in  their  affairs.  I  have 
taken  the  greatest  fancy  to  Miss  Asher,  and,  if  you  can 
do  it  without  any  breach  of  confidence,  I  would  like 
you  to  tell  me  if  you  know  of  any  misunderstanding 
between  her  and  her  uncle. ' ' 

"  I  know  of  nothing  of  the  kind,"  said  Dick  with 
great  interest,  * '  but  I  admit  I  thought  there  might  be 
something  wrong  somewhere.  He  knew  I  was  coming 
here  to-day — in  fact,  he  suggested  it — but  he  sent  Miss 
Asher  no  sort  of  message. ' ' 

* '  Can  it  be  possible  he  is  cherishing  any  hard  feel 
ings  against  her?  "  she  remarked.  "  I  should  not 
have  supposed  he  was  that  sort  of  man. ' ' 

"  He  is  not  that  sort  of  man,"  said  Dick  warmly. 
* '  He  was  talking  to  me  about  her  yesterday,  and  from 
what  he  said,  I  am  sure  he  thinks  she  is  the  finest  girl 
in  the  world. ' ' 

' '  I  am  glad  to  hear  that, ' '  said  she,  * '  but  it  makes 
the  situation  more  puzzling.  Can  it  be  possible  that 
she  is  treating  him  badly  ?  ' : 

"  Oh,  I  could  not  believe  that!  "  exclaimed  Dick 
fervently.  * '  I  can  not  imagine  such  a  thing. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  smiled.  He  had  really  known  the 
girl  but  for  one  day,  for  the  first  meeting  did  not 
count ;  and  here  he  was  defending  the  absolute  beauty 
of  her  character.  But  the  assumption  of  the  genus 
young  man  often  overtops  the  pyramids.  She  now 
determined  to  take  him  a  little  more  into  her  confi 
dence. 

97 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

' '  Miss  Asher  has  intimated  to  me  that  she  does  not 
expect  to  go  back  to  her  uncle's  house,  and  this  morn 
ing  she  made  a  reference  to  the  end  of  her  visit  here, 
but  I  thought  you  might  be  able  to  tell  me  something 
about  her  uncle.  If  he  really  does  not  expect  her  back 
I  want  her  to  stay  here. ' ' 

' '  Alas, ' '  said  Dick,  ' '  I  can  not  tell  you  anything. 
But  of  one  thing  I  feel  sure,  and  that  is  that  he  would 
like  her  to  come  back. ' ' 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  I  am  not  going 
to  let  her  go  away  at  present,  and  if  Captain  Asher 
should  say  anything  to  you  on  the  subject,  you  are  at 
liberty  to  tell  him  that.  From  what  you  said  the  other 
day,  I  suppose  you  will  soon  be  leaving  this  quiet  val 
ley  for  the  haunts  of  men. ' ' 

"  Oh,  no,"  exclaimed  Dick.  "  He  wants  me  to 
stay  with  him  as  long  as  I  can,  and  I  shall  certainly 
doit." 

"  Now,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  rising,  "  I  must  go 
and  finish  cutting  my  roses.  I  think  you  will  find 
everybody  on  the  tennis  grounds. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  had  cut  in  all  twenty-three  roses 
when  Claude  Locker  came  to  her  from  the  house.  His 
face  was  beaming,  and  he  skipped  over  the  short  grass. 

' '  Congratulate  me, ' '  he  said,  as  he  stepped  before 
her. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  dropped  her  roses  and  her  scissors 
and  turned  pale.  * '  What  do  you  mean  ?  ' '  she  gasped. 

"  Oh,  don't  be  frightened,"  he  said.  "  I  have  not 
been  acquitted,  but  the  execution  has  been  stopped  for 
the  present,  and  I  am  out  on  bail.  I  really  feel  as 
though  the  wound  in  my  neck  had  healed. ' ' 

98 


MR.    LOCKER    IS    RELEASED 

"  What  stuff!  "  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  her  color  re 
turning.  '  *  Try  to  speak  sensibly. ' ' 

"  Oh,  I  can  do  that,"  said  Mr.  Locker;  "  upon 
occasion  I  can  do  that  very  well.  I  proposed  again  to 
Miss  Asher  not  twenty  minutes  ago.  She  gave  me  no 
answer,  but  she  made  an  arrangement  with  me  which  I 
think  is  going  to  be  very  satisfactory;  she  said  she 
could  not  have  me  proposing  to  her  every  time  1  saw 
her — it  would  attract  attention,  and  in  the  end  might 
prove  annoying — but  she  said  she  would  be  willing  to 
have  me  propose  to  her  every  day  just  before  lunch 
eon,  provided  I  did  not  insist  upon  an  answer,  and 
would  promise  to  give  no  indication  whatever  at  any 
other  time  that  I  entertained  any  unusual  regard  for 
her.  I  agreed  to  this,  and  now  we  understand  each 
other.  I  feel  very  confident  and  happy.  The  other 
person  has  no  regular  time  for  offering  himself,  and  if 
any  effort  of  mine  can  avail  he  shall  not  find  an  irregu 
lar  opportunity." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  laughed.  "  Come  pick  up  my 
roses,"  she  said.  "  I  must  go  in." 

' '  It  is  like  making  love, ' '  said  Locker  as  he  picked 
up  the  flowers,  "  charming,  but  prickly."  At  this 
moment  he  started.  "  Who  is  that?  "  he  exclaimed. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  turned.  "  Oh,  that  is  Monsieur 
Emile  Du  Brant.  He  is  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the 
Austrian  legation.  He  is  to  spend  a  week  with  us. 
Suppose  you  take  my  flowers  into  the  house  and  I  will 
go  to  meet  him." 

Claude  Locker,  his  arms  folded  around  a  mass  of 
thorny  roses,  and  a  pair  of  scissors  dangling  from  one 
finger,  stood  and  gazed  with  savage  intensity  at  the 
9  99 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

dapper  little  man — black  eyes,  waxed  mustache, 
dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion — who,  with  one  hand 
outstretched,  while  the  other  held  his  hat,  advanced 
with  smiles  and  bows  to  meet  the  lady  of  the  house. 
Locker  had  seen  him  before ;  he  had  met  him  in  Wash 
ington  ;  and  he  had  received  forty  dollars  for  a  poem 
of  which  this  Austrian  young  person  was  the  sub 
ject. 

He  allowed  the  lady  and  her  guest  to  enter  the 
house  before  him,  and  then,  like  a  male  Flora,  he  fol 
lowed,  grinding  his  teeth,  and  indulging  in  impreca 
tions. 

"  He  will  have  to  put  on  some  other  kind  of 
clothes,"  he  muttered,  "  and  perhaps  he  may  shave 
and  curl  his  hair.  That  will  give  me  a  chance  to  see 
her  before  lunch.  I  do  not  know  that  she  expected 
me  to  begin  to-day,  but  I  am  going  to  do  it.  I  have  a 
clear  field  so  far,  and  nobody  knows  what  may  happen 
to-morrow. ' ' 

As  Locker  stood  in  the  hallway  waiting  for  some 
one  to  come  and  take  his  flowers,  or  to  tell  him  where 
to  put  them,  he  glanced  out  of  the  back  door.  There, 
to  his  horror,  he  saw  that  Mrs.  Easterfield  had  con 
ducted  her  guest  through  the  house,  and  that  they 
were  now  approaching  the  tennis  ground,  where  Pro 
fessor  Lancaster  and  Miss  Asher  were  standing  with 
their  rackets  in  their  hands,  while  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox 
were  playing  chess  under  the  shade  of  a  tree. 

"  Field  open!  "  he  exclaimed,  dropping  the  roses 
and  the  scissors.  "  Field  clear!  What  a  double- 
dyed  ass  am  I !  ' '  And  with  this  he  rushed  out  to  the 
tennis  ground ;  Mrs.  Easterfield  did  not  play. 

100 


MR.    LOCKER    IS    RELEASED 

Before  Mrs.  Easterfield  returned  to  the  house  she 
stood  for  a  moment  and  looked  at  the  tennis  players. 

'  *  Olive  and  three  young  men, ' '  she  said  to  herself ; 
' '  that  will  do  very  well. ' ' 

A  little  before  luncheon  Claude  Locker  became  very 
uneasy,  and  even  agitated.  He  hovered  around  Olive, 
but  found  no  opportunity  to  speak  to  her,  for  she 
was  always  talking  to  somebody  else,  mostly  to  the  new 
comer.  But  she  was  a  little  late  in  entering  the  din 
ing-room,  and  Locker  stepped  up  to  her  in  the  doorway. 

:  *  Is  this  your  handkerchief  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No,"  said  she,  stopping;  "  isn't  it  yours?  " 

' (  Yes, ' '  he  replied,  '  *  but  I  had  to  have  some  way 
of  attracting  your  attention.  I  love  you  so  much  that 
I  can  scarcely  see  the  table  and  the  people/' 

"  Thank  you,"  she  said,  "  and  that  is  all  for  the 
next  twenty- four  hours. ' ' 


101 


CHAPTER    XII 

Mr.  Rupert  Hemphill 

THAT  afternoon  it  rained,  so  that  the  Broadstone 
people  were  obliged  to  stay  indoors.  Dick  Lancaster 
found  Mr.  Fox  a  very  agreeable  and  well-informed 
man,  and  Mrs.  Fox  was  also  an  excellent  conversation 
alist.  Mrs.  Easterfield,  who,  after  the  confidences  of 
the  morning,  could  not  help  looking  at  him  as  some 
thing  more  than  an  acquaintance,  talked  to  him  a  good 
deal,  and  tried  to  make  the  time  pass  pleasantly,  at 
which  business  she  was  an  adept.  All  this  was  very 
pleasant  to  Dick,  but  it  did  not  compensate  him  for 
the  almost  entire  loss  of  the  society  of  Olive,  who 
seemed  to  devote  herself  to  the  entertainment  of  the 
Austrian  secretary.  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  very  sorry 
that  the  young  foreigner  had  come  at  this  time, 
but  he  had  been  invited  the  winter  before;  the  time 
had  been  appointed;  and  the  visit  had  to  be  en 
dured. 

When  the  rain  had  ceased,  and  Dick  was  about  to 
take  his  leave,  his  hostess  declared  she  would  not  let 
him  walk  back  through  the  mud. 

11  You  shall  have  a  horse,"  she  said,  "  and  that  will 
insure  an  early  visit  from  you,  for,  of  course,  you  will 
not  trust  the  animal  to  other  hands  than  your  own.  I 

102 


MR.    RUPERT    HEMPHILL 

would  ask  you  to  stay,  but  that  would  not  be  treating 
the  captain  kindly. ' ' 

As  Dick  was  mounting  Mr.  Du  Brant  was  standing 
at  the  front  door,  a  smile  on  his  swarthy  countenance. 
This  smile  said  as  plainly  as  words  could  have  done  so 
that  it  was  very  amusing  to  this  foreign  young  man  to 
see  a  person  with  rolled-up  trousers  and  a  straw  hat 
mount  upon  a  horse.  Claude  Locker,  whose  soul  had 
been  chafing  all  the  afternoon  under  his  banishment 
from  the  society  of  the  angel  of  his  life,  was  also  at  the 
front  door,  and  saw  the  contemptuous  smile.  In 
stantly  a  new  and  powerful  emotion  swept  over  his 
being  in  the  shape  of  a  strong  feeling  of  fellowship  for 
Lancaster.  It  made  his  soul  boil  with  indignation  to 
see  the  sneer  which  the  Austrian  directed  toward  the 
young  man,  a  thoroughly  fine  young  man,  who,  by  said 
foreigner's  monkeyful  impudence,  and  another's  mis 
taken  favor,  had  been  made  a  brother-in-misfortune 
of  himself,  Claude  Locker. 

"  I  will  make  common  cause  with  him  against  the 
enemy, ' '  thought  Locker.  ' '  If  I  should  fail  to  get  her 
I  will  help  him  to."  And  although  Dick's  brown 
socks  were  plainly  visible  as  he  cantered  away,  Mr. 
Locker  looked  after  him  as  a  gallant  and  honored 
brother-in-arms. 

That  evening  Claude  Locker  fought  for  himself 
and  his  comrade.  He  persisted  in  talking  French  with 
Mr.  Du  Brant;  and  his  remarkable  management  of 
that  language,  in  which  ignorance  and  a  subtle  facil 
ity  in  intentional  misapprehension  were  so  adroitly 
blended  that  it  was  impossible  to  tell  one  from  the 
other,  amused  Olive,  and  so  provoked  the  Austrian 

103 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

that  at  last  he  turned  away  and  began  to  talk 
American  politics  with  Mr.  Fox,  which  so  elated 
the  poet  that  the  ladies  of  the  party  passed  a  merry 
evening. 

"  Would  you  like  me  to  take  him  out  rowing  to 
morrow  1  ' '  asked  Claude  apart  to  his  hostess. 

'  *  With  you  at  the  oars  ?  ' '  she  asked. 

* '  Of  course, ' '  said  Locker. 

"  I  am  amazed,"  said  she,  "  that  you  should  sus 
pect  me  of  such  cold-blooded  cruelty. ' ' 

"  You  know  you  don't  want  him  here,"  said 
Claude.  "  His  salary  can  not  be  large,  and  he  must 
spend  the  greater  part  of  it  on  clothes — and  oil." 

"  Is  it  possible,"  she  asked,  "  that  you  look  upon 
that  young  man  as  a  rival  ?  ' ' 

"  By  no  means,"  he  replied;  "  such  persons  never 
marry.  They  only  prevent  other  people  from  marry 
ing  anybody.  Therefore  it  is  that  I  remember  what 
sort  of  a  boatman  I  am." 

"  My  dear,"  said  Mr.  Fox,  when  he  and  his  wife 
had  retired  to  their  room,  "  after  hearing  what  that 
Austrian  has  to  say  of  the  American  people,  I  almost 
revere  Mr.  Locker." 

* '  I  heard  some  of  his  remarks, ' '  she  said,  '  *  and  I 
imagined  they  would  have  an  effect  of  that  kind  upon 

you!" 

When  the  Broadstone  surrey  came  from  the  train 
the  next  morning  it  brought  a  gentleman. 

1  'What!  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Fox,  when  from  the 
other  side  of  the  lawn  she  saw  him  alight.  ' '  Another 
young  man  with  a  valise !  It  seems  to  me  that  this  is 
an  overdose!  " 

104 


MR.    RUPERT    HEMPHILL 

"  Overdoses,"  remarked  Mr.  Fox,  "  are  often  less 
dangerous  than  just  enough  poison." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  received  this  visitor  at  the  door. 
She  had  been  waiting  for  him,  and  did  not  wish  him  to 
meet  anybody  when  she  was  not  present.  After  offer 
ing  his  respectful  salutations,  Mr.  Hemphill,  Mr.  Eas 
ter  field's  secretary  in  the  central  office  of  the  D.  and 
J.,  delivered  without  delay  a  package  of  which  he  was 
the  bearer,  and  apologized  for  his  valise,  stating  that 
Mr.  Easterfield  had  told  him  he  must  spend  the  night 
at  Broadstone. 

1 1  Most  assuredly  you  would  do  that, ' '  said  she,  and 
to  herself  she  added,  * '  If  I  want  you  longer  I  will  let 
you  know. ' ' 

Mr.  Rupert  Hemphill  was  a  very  handsome  man ; 
his  nose  was  fine ;  his  eyes  were  dark  and  expressive ; 
he  wore  silky  side-whiskers,  which,  however,  did  not 
entirely  conceal  the  bloom  upon  his  cheeks;  his  teeth 
were  very  good ;  he  was  well  shaped ;  and  his  clothes 
fitted  him  admirably. 

As  has  been  said  before,  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  ex 
ceedingly  interested;  she  was  even  a  little  agitated, 
which  was  not  common  with  her.  She  had  Mr.  Hemp- 
hill  conducted  to  his  room,  and  then  she  waited  for 
him  to  come  down ;  this  also  was  not  common  with  her. 

"  Mr.  Locker,"  she  called  from  the  open  door,  "  do 
you  know  where  Miss  Asher  is  ?  ' : 

The  poet  stopped  in  his  stride  across  the  lawn, 
and  approached  the  lady.  "  Oh,  she  is  with  the  Du 
Brant,"  said  he.  "  I  have  been  trying  to  get  in  some 
of  my  French,  but  neither  of  them  will  rise  to  the  fly. 
However,  I  am  content;  it  is  now  three  hours  before 

105 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

luncheon,  and  if  she  has  him  to  herself  for  that  length 
of  time,  I  think  she  will  be  thoroughly  disgusted. 
Then  it  will  be  my  time,  as  per  agreement." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  was  a  little  disappointed.  She 
wanted  Olive  by  herself,  but  she  did  not  want  to 
make  a  point  of  sending  for  her.  But  fortune  fa 
vored  her. 

"  There  she  is,"  exclaimed  Locker;  "  she  is  just 
going  into  the  library.  Let  me  go  tell  her  you  want 
her." 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  Don't  put 
yourself  into  danger  of  breaking  your  word  by  seeing 
her  alone  before  luncheon.  I  '11  go  to  her. ' ' 

Mr.  Locker  continued  his  melancholy  stroll,  and 
Mrs.  Easterfield  entered  the  library.  Olive  must  not 
be  allowed  to  go  away  until  the  moment  arrived  which 
had  been  awaited  with  so  much  interest. 

"  I  am  looking  for  a  copy  of  Tartarin  sur  les 
Alps.  I  am  sure  I  saw  it  among  these  French  books," 
said  Olive,  on  her  knees  before  a  low  bookcase. 
'  *  Would  you  believe  it,  Mr.  Du  Brant  has  never  read 
it,  and  he  seems  to  think  so  much  of  education." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  knew  exactly  where  the  book  was, 
but  she  preferred  to  allow  Olive  to  occupy  herself  in 
Jooking  for  it,  while  she  kept  her  eyes  on  the  hall. 

"  Wait  a  moment,  Olive,"  said  she;  "  a  visitor 
has  just  arrived,  and  I  want  to  make  him  acquainted 
with  you." 

Olive  rose  with  a  book  in  her  hand,  and  Mrs.  Eas 
terfield  presented  Mr.  Hemphill  to  Miss  Asher.  As 
she  did  so,  Mrs.  Easterfield  kept  her  eyes  steadily  fixed 
upon  the  young  lady's  face.  With  a  pleasant  smile 

106 


MR.    RUPERT    HEMPHILL 

Olive  returned  Mr.  Hemphill's  bow.  She  was  gener 
ally  glad  to  make  new  acquaintances. 

"  Mr.  Hemphill  is  one  of  my  husband's  business 
associates/'  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  still  with  her  eyes 
on  Olive.  '  *  He  has  just  come  from  him. ' ' 

"  Did  he  send  us  this  fine  day  by  you?  "  said 
Olive.  *  *  If  so,  we  are  greatly  obliged  to  him. ' ' 

The  young  man  answered  that,  although  he  had  not 
brought  the  day,  he  was  delighted  that  he  had  come 
in  company  with  it. 

"  What  atrocious  commonplaces!  "  thought  Mrs. 
Easterfield.  "  The  girl  does  not  know  him  from 
Adam!  " 

Here  was  a  disappointment ;  the  thrill,  the  pallor, 
the  involuntary  start,  were  totally  absent ;  and  the  first 
act  of  the  little  play  was  a  failure.  But  Mrs.  Eas 
terfield  hoped  for  better  things  when  the  curtain  rose 
again.  She  conducted  Mr.  Hemphill  to  the  Foxes  and 
let  Olive  go  away  with  her  book ;  and,  as  soon  as  she  had 
the  opportunity,  she  read  the  letter  from  her  husband. 

"  With  this  I  send  you  Mr.  Hemphill,"  he  wrote. 
1 1  I  don 't  know  what  you  want  to  do  with  him,  but  you 
must  take  good  care  of  him.  He  is  a  most  valuable 
secretary,  and  an  estimable  young  man.  As  soon  as 
you  have  done  with  him  please  send  him  back. ' ' 

' '  I  am  glad  he  is  estimable, ' '  said  Mrs.  Easterfield 
to  herself.  ';  That  will  make  the  matter  more  satis 
factory  to  Tom  when  I  explain  it  to  him." 

When  Dick  Lancaster,  properly  booted  and  wear 
ing  a  felt  hat,  returned  the  borrowed  horse,  he  was 
met  by  Mr.  Locker,  who  had  been  wandering  about 
the  front  of  the  house,  and  when  he  had  dismounted 

107 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Dick  was  somewhat  surprised  by  the  hearty  handshake 
he  received. 

'  I  am  sorry  to  have  to  tell  you,"  said  the  poet, 
: '  that  there  is  another  one. ' ' 

"  Another  what?  "  asked  Dick. 

"  Another  unnecessary  victim,"  replied  Locker. 
And  with  this  he  returned  to  the  front  of  the  house. 

At  last  Olive  came  down  the  stairs,  and  she  was 
alone.  Locker  stepped  quickly  up  to  her. 

"  If  I  should  marry,"  he  said,  "  would  I  be  ex 
pected  to  entertain  that  Austrian  ?  ' ' 

She  stopped,  and  gave  the  question  her  serious  con 
sideration.  "  I  should  think,"  she  said,  "  that  that 
would  depend  a  good  deal  upon  whom  you  should 
marry. ' ' 

"  How  can  you  talk  in  that  way?  "  he  exclaimed. 
"  As  if  there  were  anything  to  depend  upon !  ' ' 

"  Nothing  to  depend  upon,"  said  Olive,  slightly 
raising  her  eyebrows.  * '  That  is  bad. ' '  And  she  went 
into  the  dining-room. 

The  afternoon  was  an  exceptionally  fine  one,  but 
the  party  at  Broadstone  did  not  take  advantage  of  it ; 
there  seemed  to  be  a  spirit  of  unrest  pervading  the 
premises,  and  when  the  carriage  started  on  a  drive 
along  the  river  only  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox  were  in  it. 
Mrs.  Easterfield  would  not  leave  Olive  and  Mr.  Hemp- 
hill,  and  she  did  not  encourage  them  to  go.  Conse 
quently  there  were  three  young  men  who  did  not  wish 
to  go. 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  Mr.  Fox,  as  they  rolled 
away,  ' '  that  a  young  woman,  such  as  Miss  Asher,  has 
it  in  her  power  to  interfere  very  much  with  the  social 

108 


MR.    RUPERT    HEMPHILL 

feeling  which  should  pervade  a  household  like  this. 
If  she  were  to  satisfy  herself  with  attracting  one  per 
son,  all  the  rest  of  us  might  be  content  to  make  our 
selves  happy  in  such  fashions  as  might  present  them 
selves.  ' ' 

' '  The  rest  of  us !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Fox. 

"  Yes,"  replied  her  husband.  "  I  mean  you,  and 
Mrs.  Easterfield,  and  myself,  and  the  rest.  That  young 
woman's  indeterminate  methods  of  fascination  inter 
fere  with  all  of  us. ' ' 

' '  I  don 't  exactly  see  how  they  interfere  with  me, ' ' 
said  Mrs.  Fox  rather  stiffly. 

* '  If  the  carriage  had  been  filled,  as  was  expected, ' ' 
said  her  husband,  ' '  I  might  have  had  the  pleasure  of 
driving  you  in  a  buggy." 

She  turned  to  him  with  a  smile.  "  Immediately 
after  I  spoke,"  she  said,  "  I  imagined  you  might  be 
thinking  of  something  of  that  kind. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  was  not  a  woman  to  wait  for 
things  to  happen  in  their  own  good  time.  If  possible, 
she  liked  to  hurry  them  up.  In  this  Olive  and  Hemp- 
hill  affair  there  was  really  nothing  to  wait  for ;  if  she 
left  them  to  themselves  there  would  be  no  happenings. 
As  soon  as  was  possible,  she  took  Olive  into  her  own 
little  room,  where  she  kept  her  writing-table,  and  into 
whose  sacred  precincts  her  secretary  was  not  allowed 
to  penetrate. 

' '  Now,  then, ' '  said  she, ' '  what  do  you  think  of  Mr. 
Hemphill?  " 

"  I  don't  think  of  him  at  all,"  said  Olive,  a  little 
surprised.  "  Is  there  anything  about  him  to  think 
of?  " 

109 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  He  sat  by  you  at  luncheon,"  said  Mrs.  Easter- 
field. 

"  I  know  that,"  said  Olive,  "  and  he  was  better 
than  an  empty  chair.  I  hate  sitting  by  empty  chairs. ' ' 

"  Olive,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easterfield  with  vivacity, 
1  i  you  ought  to  remember  that  young  man !  ' ' 

"  Remember  him?  "  the  girl  ejaculated. 

' '  Certainly, ' '  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  ' '  After  what 
you  told  me  about  him,  I  expected  you  would  recog 
nize  him  the  moment  you  saw  him.  But  you  did  not 
know  him ;  you  did  not  do  anything  I  expected  you  to 
do ;  and  I  was  very  much  disappointed. ' ' 

"  What  are  you  talking  about?  "  asked  Olive. 

"  I  am  talking  about  Mr.  Hemphill ;  Mr.  Rupert 
Hemphill ;  who,  about  seven  years  ago,  was  engaged  in 
the  Philadelphia  Navy- Yard,  and  who  came  to  your 
house  on  business  with  your  father.  Prom  what  you 
told  me  of  him  I  conjectured  that  he  might  now  be  my 
husband's  Philadelphia  secretary,  for  his  name  is 
Rupert,  and  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  he  was  once 
engaged  in  the  navy-yard.  AA7hen  I  found  out  I  was 
entirely  correct  in  my  supposition  I  had  him  sent  here, 
and  I  looked  forward  with  the  most  joyous  anticipa 
tions  to  being  present  when  you  first  saw  him.  But  it 
was  all  a  fiasco!  I  suppose  some  people  might  think 
I  was  unwarrantably  meddling  in  the  affairs  of  others, 
but  as  it  was  in  my  power  to  create  a  most  charming 
romance,  I  could  not  let  the  opportunity  pass." 

Olive  did  not  hear  a  word  of  Mrs.  Easterfield 's  la 
test  remarks ;  her  round,  full  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the 
wall  in  front  of  her,  but  they  saw  nothing.  Her  mind 
had  gone  back  seven  years. 

110 


MR.    RUPERT    HEMPHILL 

"Is  it  possible,"  she  exclaimed  presently,  "  that 
that  is  my  Rupert,  my  beautiful  Rupert  of  the  roseate 
cheeks,  the  Rupert  of  my  heart,  my  only  love !  The 
Endymion-like  youth  I  watched  for  every  day;  on 
whom  I  gazed  and  gazed  and  worshiped  and  longed 
for  when  he  had  gone ;  of  whom  I  dreamed ;  to  whom 
my  soul  went  out  in  poetry ;  whose  miniature  I  would 
have  painted  on  the  finest  ivory  if  I  had  known  how 
to  paint ;  and  whose  image  thus  created  I  would  have 
worn  next  my  heart  to  look  at  every  instant  I  found 
myself  alone,  if  it  had  not  been  that  my  dresses  were 
all  fastened  down  the  back!  I  am  going  to  him  this 
instant !  I  must  see  him  again !  My  Rupert,  my  only 
love  !  ' '  And  with  this  she  started  to  the  door. 

"  Olive,"  cried  Mrs.  Easterfield,  springing  from 
her  chair,  "  stop,  don't  you  do  that!  Come  back. 
You  must  not ' ' 

But  the  girl  had  flown  down  the  stairs,  and  was 
gone. 


Ill 


CHAPTER    XIII 
Mr.  Lancaster's  Backers 

OLIVE  found  Mr.  Hemphill  under  a  tree  upon  the 
lawn.  He  was  sitting  on  a  low  bench  with  one  little 
girl  upon  each  knee.  He  was  not  a  stranger  to  the 
children,  for  they  had  frequently  met  him  during  their 
winter  residences  in  cities.  He  was  telling  them  a 
story  when  Olive  approached.  He  made  an  attempt 
to  rise,  but  the  little  girls  would  not  let  him  put  them 
down. 

"  Don't  move,  Mr.  Hemphill,"  said  Olive;  "  I  am 
going  to  sit  down  myself. ' '  And  as  she  spoke  she  drew 
forward  a  low  bench.  "  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you  are 
fond  of  children,  Mr.  Hemphill,"  she  continued; 
"  you  must  have  changed  very  much." 

' '  Changed !  "  he  exclaimed.  '  *  I  have  always  been 
fond  of  them. ' ' 

11  Excuse  me,"  said  Olive,  "  not  always.  I  re 
member  a  child  you  did  not  care  for,  on  whom  you  did 
not  even  look,  who  was  absolutely  nothing  to  you,  al 
though  you  were  so  much  to  her." 

Mr.  Hemphill  stared.  "  I  do  not  remember  such 
a  child,"  said  he. 

"  She  existed,"  said  Olive.  "  I  was  that  child." 
112 


MR.    LANCASTER'S    BACKERS 

And  then  she  told  him  how  she  had  seen  him  come  to 
her  father's  house. 

Mr.  Hemphill  remembered  Lieutenant  Asher,  he 
remembered  going  to  his  house,  but  he  did  not  remem 
ber  seeing  there  a  little  girl. 

"  I  was  not  so  very  little,"  said  Olive;  "  I  was 
fourteen,  and  I  was  just  at  an  age  to  be  greatly  at 
tracted  by  you.  I  thought  you  were  the  most  beauti 
ful  young  man  I  had  ever  beheld.  I  don't  mind  tell 
ing  you,  because  I  can  not  look  upon  you  as  a  stranger, 
that  I  fell  deeply  in  love  with  you. ' ' 

As  Mr.  Hemphill  sat  and  listened  to  these  words  his 
face  turned  redder  than  the  reddest  rose,  even  his  silky 
whiskers  seemed  to  redden,  his  fine-cut  red  lips  were 
parted,  but  he  could  not  speak.  The  two  little  girls 
had  been  gazing  earnestly  at  Olive.  Now  the  elder 
one  spoke. 

"  I  am  in  love,"  she  said. 

"  And  so  am  I,"  piped  up  the  younger  one. 

"  She's  in  love  with  Martha's  little  Jim,"  said  the 
first  girl,  *  *  but  I  am  in  love  with  Henry.  He 's  eight. 
Both  boys." 

' '  I  wouldn  't  be  in  love  with  a  girl, ' '  said  the  little 
one  contemptuously. 

This  interruption  was  a  help  to  Mr.  Hemphill,  and 
his  redness  paled  a  little. 

"  Of  course  you  could  not  be  expected  to  know 
anything  of  my  feelings  for  you,"  said  Olive,  "  and 
perhaps  it  is  very  well  you  did  not,  for  business  is 
business,  and  the  feelings  of  girls  should  not  be  al 
lowed  to  interfere  with  it.  But  my  heart  went  out 
to  you  all  the  same.  You  were  my  first  love." 

113 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Now  Mr.  Hemphill  crimsoned  again  worse  than 
before.  He  had  not  yet  spoken  a  word,  and  there  was 
no  word  in  the  English  language  which  he  thought 
would  be  appropriate  for  the  occasion. 

* '  You  may  think  I  am  a  little  cruel  to  plump  this 
sort  of  thing  upon  you, ' '  said  Olive, '  *  in  such  a  sudden 
way,  but  I  am  not.  All  this  was  seven  years  ago,  and  a 
person  of  my  age  can  surely  speak  freely  of  what  hap 
pened  seven  years  ago.  I  did  not  even  know  you  when 
I  met  you,  but  Mrs.  Easterfield  told  me  about  you,  and 
now  I  remember  everything,  and  I  think  it  would 
have  been  inhuman  if  I  had  not  told  you  of  the  part 
you  used  to  play  in  my  life.  You  have  a  right  to 
know  it." 

If  Mr.  Hemphill  could  have  reddened  any  more  he 
would  have  done  so,  but  it  was  not  possible.  The 
thought  flashed  into  his  mind  that  it  might  be  well  to 
say  something  about  her  having  found  him  very  much 
changed,  but  in  the  next  instant  he  saw  that  that 
would  not  do.  How  could  he  assume  that  he  had  ever 
been  beautiful ;  how  could  he  force  her  to  say  that  he 
was  not  beautiful  now,  or  that  he  still  remained  so  ? 

"  I  am  very  glad  I  have  met  you,"  said  Olive, 
' '  and  that  I  know  who  you  are.  And  I  am  glad,  too, 
to  tell  you  that  I  forgive  you  for  not  taking  notice  of 
me  seven  years  ago." 

* '  Is  that  all  of  your  story  ?  ' '  asked  the  elder  little 
girl. 

"  Yes,"  said  Olive,  laughing,  "  that  is  all." 

"  Well,  then,  let  Mr.  Hemphill  go  on  with  his," 
said  she. 

"  Oh,  certainly,"  said  Olive,  jumping  up;  "  and 
114 


MR.    LANCASTER'S    BACKERS 

you  must  all  excuse  me  for  interfering  with  your 
story." 

Mr.  Hemphill  sat  still,  a  little  girl  on  each.  knee. 
He  had  not  spoken  a  word  since  that  beautiful  girl 
had  told  him  she  had  once  loved  him.  And  he  could 
not  speak  now. 

' '  You  look  as  if  you  had  a  plaster  taken  off, ' '  said 
the  younger  little  girl.  And,  after  waiting  a  moment 
for  an  answer,  she  slipped  off  his  knee;  the  other 
followed;  and  the  story  was  postponed. 

When  Mrs.  Easterfield  heard  Olive's  account  of 
this  incident  she  was  utterly  astounded.  * '  "What  sort 
of  a  girl  are  you?  "  she  exclaimed.  "  What  are  you 
going  to  do  about  it  now  ?  ' : 

"  Do?  "  said  Olive  quietly.     "  I  have  done." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  was  in  a  state  of  great  perplexity. 
She  had  already  asked  Mr.  Hemphill  to  stay  until  Sat 
urday,  three  days  off,  and  she  could  not  tell  him  to  go 
away,  and  the  awkwardness  of  his  remaining  in  the 
same  house  with  Olive  was  something  not  easy  to  deal 
with. 

During  Olive's  interview  with  Mr.  Hemphill  and 
the  little  girls  "Claude  Locker  had  been  sitting  alone 
at  a  distance,  gazing  at  the  group.  He  was  waiting 
for  an  opportunity  of  social  converse,  for  this  was  not 
forbidden  him  even  if  the  time  did  not  immediately 
precede  the  luncheon  hour.  He  saw  Hemphill's  bla 
zing  face,  and  deeply  wondered.  If  it  had  been  the 
lady  who  had  flushed  he  would  have  bounced  upon  the 
scene  to  defend  her,  but  Olive  was  calm,  and  it  was 
the  conscious  guilt  of  the  man  that  made  his  face  look 
like  a  freshly  painted  tin  roof.  This  was  an  affair 
10  115 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

into  which  he  had  no  right  to  intrude  himself,  and  so 
he  sat  and  sighed,  and  his  heart  grew  heavy.  How 
many  ante-luncheon  avowals  would  have  to  be  made 
before  she  would  take  so  much  interest  in  him,  one 
way  or  the  other ! 

Mr.  Du  Brant  also  sat  at  a  distance.  He  was  read 
ing,  or  at  least  appearing  to  read ;  but  he  was  so  unac 
customed  to  holding  a  book  in  his  hands  that  he  did  it 
very  awkwardly,  and  Miss  Raleigh,  who  was  looking  at 
him  from  the  library  window,  made  up  her  mind  that 
if  he  dropped  it,  as  she  expected  him  to  do,  she  would 
get  the  book  and  rub  the  dirt  off  the  corners  before  it 
was  put  back  into  the  bookcase.  But  when  Olive  left 
Mr.  Hemphill  she  went  so  quickly  into  the  house  that 
the  Austrian  was  unable  to  join  her,  and  he,  therefore, 
went  to  his  room  to  prepare  for  dinner. 

Dick  Lancaster  had  also  been  waiting,  although  not 
watching.  He  had  hoped  that  he  might  have  a  chance 
for  a  little  talk  with  Olive.  But  there  was  really  no 
good  reason  to  expect  it,  for  he  knew  that  two,  and 
perhaps  three,  young  men  had  stayed  at  home  that 
afternoon  in  the  hope  that  they  might  have  the  same 
opportunity.  The  odds  against  him  were  great. 

He  began  to  think  that  perhaps  he  was  engaged  in 
a  foolish  piece  of  business,  and  was  in  danger  of 
making  himself  disagreeably  conspicuous.  The  other 
young  men  were  guests  at  Broadstone,  but  if  he  came 
there  every  day  as  he  had  been  doing,  and  as  he  wanted 
to  do,  it  might  be  thought  that  he  was  taking  advan 
tage  of  Mrs.  Easterfield's  kindness.  At  that  moment 
he  heard  the  rustle  of  skirts,  and,  glancing  up,  saw 
Mrs.  Easterfield,  who  was  looking  for  him. 

116 


MR.    LANCASTER'S    BACKERS 

Mrs.  Easterfield's  regard  for  Lancaster  was  grow 
ing,  partly  on  account  of  the  confidence  she  had  al 
ready  reposed  in  him.  In  her  present  state  of  mind 
she  would  have  been  glad  to  give  him  still  more,  for 
she  did  not  know  what  to  do  about  Olive  and  Mr. 
Hemphill,  and  there  was  no  one  with  whom  she  could 
talk  upon  the  subject;  even  if  she  had  known  Dick 
better  her  loyalty  to  Olive  would  have  prevented  that. 

' '  Have  you  found  out  anything  about  the  captain 
and  Olive?  "  she  asked.  "  Has  he  spoken  of  her  re 
turn?  " 

' '  No, ' '  replied  Dick ;  "  he  has  not  said  a  word  on 
the  subject,  but  I  am  very  sure  he  would  be  over 
joyed  to  have  her  come  back.  Every  day  when  the 
postman  arrives  I  believe  he  looks  for  a  letter  from  her, 
and  he  shows  that  he  feels  it  when  he  finds  none.  He 
is  good-natured,  and  pleasant,  but  he  is  not  as  cheer 
ful  as  when  I  first  came. ' ' 

"  Every  day,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  as  they 
walked  together,  "  I  love  Olive  more  and  more." 

"  So  do  I,"  thought  Dick. 

"  But  every  day  I  understand  her  less  and  less," 
she  continued.  ' '  She  is  truly  a  navy  girl,  and  repose 
does  not  seem  to  be  one  of  her  characteristics.  From 
what  she  has  told  me,  I  believe  she  has  never  lived  in 
domestic  peace  and  quiet  until  she  came  to  stay  with 
her  uncle.  It  would  delight  me  to  see  her  properly 
married.  I  wish  you  would  marry  her. ' ' 

Dick  stopped,  and  so  did  she,  and  they  stood  look 
ing  at  each  other.  He  did  not  redden,  for  he  was  not 
of  the  flushing  kind ;  his  face  even  grew  a  little  hard. 

"  Do  you  believe,"  said  he,  in  a  very  different  tone 
117 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

from  his  ordinary  voice,  "  that  I  have  the  slightest 
chance?  " 

'  *  Of  course  I  do, "  she  answered.  * '  I  believe  you 
have  a  very  good  chance,  or  I  should  not  have  spoken 
to  you.  I  flatter  myself  that  I  have  excellent  judg 
ment  concerning  young  men,  and  I  am  very  fond  of 
Olive." 

*'  Mrs.  Easterfield,"  exclaimed  Dick,  "  you  know  I 
am  in  love  with  her.  I  suppose  that  has  been  easy 
enough  to  see,  but  it  has  all  been  very  quick  work  with 
me;  in  fact,  I  have  had  very  little  to  say  to  her,  and 
have  never  said  anything  that  could  in  the  slightest 
degree  indicate  how  I  felt  toward  her.  But  I  believe 
I  loved  her  the  second  day  I  met  her,  and  I  am  not 
sure  it  did  not  begin  the  day  before. ' ' 

"  I  think  that  sort  of  thing  is  always  quick  work 
where  Olive  is  concerned,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  I 
think  it  likely  that  many  young  men  have  .fallen  in 
love  with  her,  and  that  they  have  to  be  very  lively  if 
they  want  a  chance  to  tell  her  so.  But  don't  be  jeal 
ous.  I  know  positively  that  none  of  them  ever  had  the 
slightest  chance.  But  now  all  that  is  passed.  I  know 
she  is  tired  of  an  unsettled  life,  and  it  is  likely  she 
may  soon  be  thinking  of  marrying,  and  there  will  be  no 
lack  of  suitors.  She  has  them  now.  But  I  want  her  to 
marry  you." 

"  Mrs.  Easterfield,"  exclaimed  Dick,  "  you  have 
known  me  but  a  very  little  while — 

"  Don't  mention  that,"  she  interrupted.  "  I  do 
quick  work  as  well  as  other  people.  I  never  before 
engaged  in  any  matchmaking  business,  but  if  this  suc 
ceeds,  I  shall  be  proud  of  it  to  the  end  of  my  days. 

118 


MR.    LANCASTER'S    BACKERS 

You  are  in  love  with  Olive,  and  she  is  worthy  of  you. 
I  want  you  to  try  to  win  her,  and  I  will  do  everything 
I  can  to  help  you.  Here  is  my  hand  upon  it. ' ' 

As  Dick  held  that  hand  and  looked  into  that  face 
a  courage  and  a  belief  in  himself  came  into  his  heart 
that  had  never  been  there  before.  By  day  and  by 
night  his  soul  had  been  filled  with  the  image  of  Olive, 
but  up  to  this  moment  he  had  not  thought  of  marry 
ing  her.  That  was  something  that  belonged  to  the 
future,  not  even  considered  in  his  state  of  inchoate 
adoration.  But  now  that  he  had  been  told  he  had 
reason  to  hope,  he  hoped ;  and  the  fact  that  one  beau 
tiful  woman  told  him  he  might  hope  to  win  another 
beautiful  woman  was  a  powerful  encouragement. 
Henceforth  he  would  not  be  content  with  simply  loving 
Olive;  if  it  were  within  his  power  he  would  win,  he 
would  have  her. 

* '  You  look  like  a  soldier  going  forth  to  conquest, ' ' 
said  Mrs.  Easterfield  with  a  smile. 

(<  And  you,"  said  he  impulsively,  "  you  not  only 
look  like,  but  you  are  an  angel. ' ' 

This  was  pretty  strong  for  the  young  professor,  but 
the  lady  understood  him.  She  was  very  glad,  indeed, 
that  he  could  express  himself  impulsively,  for  with 
out  that  power  he  could  not  win  Olive. 

As  Dick  started  away  from  Broadstone  on  his  walk 
to  the  toll-gate  he  heard  quick  steps  behind  him  and 
was  soon  overtaken  by  Claude  Locker. 

"  Hello,"  said  that  young  man,  "  if  you  are  on 
your  way  home  I  am  going  to  walk  a  while  with  you. 
I  have  not  done  a  thing  to-day. ' ' 

When  Dick  heard  these  words  his  heart  sank.  He 
119 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

was  on  his  way  home  accompanied  by  Olive — Olive  in 
his  heart,  Olive  in  his  soul,  Olive  in  his  brain,  Olive  in 
the  sky  and  all  over  the  earth — how  dared  a  common 
mortal  intrude  himself  upon  the  scene  ? 

"  There  is  another  thing,"  said  Locker,  who  was 
now  keeping  step  with  him.  "  My  soul  is  filled  with 
murderous  intent.  I  thirst  for  human  life,  and  I  need 
the  restraints  of  companionship." 

"  Who  is  it  you  want  to  kill?  "  asked  Dick 
coldly. 

"  It  is  an  Austrian,"  replied  the  other.  "  I  will 
not  say  what  Austrian,  leaving  that  to  your  imagina 
tion.  I  don't  suppose  you  ever  killed  an  Austrian. 
Neither  have  I,  but  I  should  like  to  do  it.  It  would  be 
a  novel  and  delightful  experience." 

Dick  did  not  think  it  necessary  that  he  should  be 
told  more;  he  perfectly  understood  the  state  of  the 
case,  for  it  was  impossible  not  to  see  that  this  young 
man  was  paying  marked  attention  to  Olive,  while  Mr. 
Du  Brant  was  doing  the  same  thing.  But  still  it 
seemed  well  to  say  something,  and  he  remarked : 

' '  What  is  the  matter  with  the  Austrian  ?  ' ' 

li  He  is  in  love  with  Miss  Asher,"  said  Locker, 
11  and  so  am  I.  I  am  beginning  to  believe  he  is  posi 
tively  dangerous.  I  did  not  think  so  at  first,  but  I  do 
now.  He  has  actually  taken  to  reading.  I  know  that 
man ;  I  have  often  seen  him  in  Washington.  He  was 
always  running  after  some  lady  or  other,  but  I  never 
knew  him  to  read  before.  It  is  a  dangerous  symptom. 
He  reads  with  one  eye,  while  the  other  sweeps  the  hori 
zon  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  her.  By  the  way,  that  would 
be  a  splendid  idea  for  a  district  policeman ;  if  he  stood 

120 


MR.    LANCASTER'S    BACKERS 

under  a  lamp-post  in  citizen's  dress  reading  a  book,  no 
criminal  would  suspect  his  identity,  and  he  could  keep 
one  eye  on  the  printed  page,  and  devote  the  other  to 
the  cause  of  justice.  But  to  return  to  our  sallow  mut 
ton,  or  black  sheep,  if  you  choose.  That  Austrian 
ought  to  be  killed !  " 

Dick  smiled  sardonically.  "  He  is  not  your  only 
obstacle,"  he  said. 

"  I  know  it,"  replied  Locker.  "  There's  that 
Chinese  laundried  fellow,  smooth-finished,  who  came 
up  this  morning.  He  must  be  an  old  offender,  for  I 
saw  her  giving  it  to  him  hot  this  morning.  I  am  sure 
she  was  telling  him  exactly  what  she  thought  of  him, 
for  he  turned  as  red  as  a  pickled  beet.  So  he  will  have 
to  scratch  pretty  hard  if  he  expects  to  get  into  her 
good  graces  again,  and  I  suppose  that  is  what  he  came 
here  for.  But  I  am  not  so  much  afraid  of  him  as  I 
am  of  that  Austrian.  If  he  keeps  on  the  literary  lay, 
and  reads  books  with  her,  looking  up  the  words  in  the 
dictionary,  it  is  dangerous. ' ' 

"  I  do  not  see,"  said  Lancaster,  somewhat  loftily, 
"  why  you  speak  of  these  things  to  me." 

"  Then  I'll  tell  you,"  said  Locker  quickly.  "  I 
speak  of  them  to  you  because  you  are  just  as  much 
concerned  in  them  as  I  am.  You  are  in  love  with  Miss 
Asher — anybody  can  see  that — and,  in  fact,  I  should 
think  you  were  a  pretty  poor  sort  of  a  fellow  if  you 
were  not,  after  having  seen  and  talked  with  her.  Con 
sequently  that  Austrian  is  just  as  dangerous  to  you  as 
he  is  to  me.  And  as  I  have  chosen  you  for  my 
brother-in-arms,  it  is  right  that  I  tell  you  everything 
I  know." 

121 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

'  *  Brother-in-arms  ?  ' '  ejaculated  Dick. 

"  That  is  what  it  is,"  said  Locker,  "  and  I  will  tell 
you  how  it  came  about.  The  Austrian  looked  upon 
you  with  scorn  and  contempt  because  you  rode  a  horse 
wearing  rolled-up  trousers  and  low  shoes.  As  you  did 
not  see  him  and  could  not  return  the  contempt,  I  did 
it  for  you.  Having  done  this,  a  fellow  feeling  for  you 
immediately  sprang  up  within  me.  That  is  what  al 
ways  happens,  you  know.  After  that  the  feeling  be 
came  a  good  deal  stronger,  and  I  said  to  myself  that 
if  I  found  I  could  not  get  Miss  Asher ;  and  it 's  seventy- 
six  I  don't,  for  that's  generally  the  state  of  my  luck; 
I  would  help  you  to  get  her,  partly  because  I  like  you, 
and  partly  because  that  Austrian  must  be  ousted,  no 
matter  what  happens  or  how  it  is  done.  So  I  became 
your  brother-in-arms,  and  if  I  find  I  am  out  of  the 
race,  I  am  going  to  back  you  up  just  as  hard  as  I  can, 
and  here's  my  hand  upon  it." 

Dick  stopped  as  he  had  stopped  half  an  hour  be 
fore,  and  gazed  upon  his  companion. 

"  Now  don't  thank  me,"  continued  Locker,  "  or 
say  anything  nice,  because  if  I  find  I  can  come  in  ahead 
of  you  I  am  going  to  do  it.  But  if  we  work  together, 
I  am  sure  we  need  not  be  afraid  of  that  Austrian,  or  of 
that  fiery-faced  model  for  a  ready-made-clothes  shop. 
It  is  to  be  either  you  or  me — first  place  for  me,  if  pos 
sible." 

Dick  could  not  help  laughing.  "  You  are  a  jolly 
sort  of  a  fellow, ' '  said  he,  ' '  and  I  will  be  your  brother- 
in-arms.  But  it  is  to  be  first  place  for  me,  if  possible. ' ' 
And  they  shook  hands  upon  the  bargain. 

That  evening  Mr.  Hemphill  found  Olive  alone.  "  I 
122 


MR.    LANCASTER'S    BACKERS 

have  been  trying  to  get  a  chance  to  speak  to  you,  Miss 
Asher, ' '  said.  he.  ' '  I  want  to  ask  you  to  help  me,  for 
I  do  not  know  what  in  the  world  to  do. ' ' 

Olive  looked  at  him  inquiringly. 

:<  Since  you  spoke  to  me  this  afternoon,"  he  went 
on,  "  I  have  been  in  a  state  of  most  miserable  embar 
rassment  ;  I  can  not  for  the  life  of  me  decide  what  I 
ought  to  say  or  what  I  ought  to  do,  or  what  I  ought  not 
to  say  or  what  I  ought  not  to  do.  If  I  should  pass 
over  as  something  not  necessary  to  take  into  consider 
ation  the — the — most  unusual  statement  you  made  to 
me,  it  might  be  that  you  would  consider  me  as  a  boor, 
a  man  incapable  of  appreciating  the — the — highest 
honors.  Then  again,  if  I  do  say  anything  to  show  that  I 
appreciate  such  honors,  you  may  well  consider  me  pre 
sumptuous,  conceited,  and  even  insulting.  I  thought 
a  while  ago  that  I  would  leave  this  house  before  it 
would  be  necessary  for  me  to  decide  how  I  should  act 
when  I  met  you,  but  I  could  not  do  that.  Explana 
tions  would  be  necessary,  and  I  would  not  be  able  to 
make  them,  and  so,  in  sheer  despair,  I  have  come  to  you. 
Whatever  you  say  I  ought  to  do  I  will  do.  Of  my 
self,  I  am  utterly  helpless." 

Olive  looked  at  him  with  serious  earnestness. 
' '  You  are  in  a  queer  position, ' '  she  said,  ' '  and  I  don 't 
wonder  you  do  not  know  what  to  do.  I  did  not  think 
of  this  peculiar  consequence  which  would  result  from 
my  revelation.  As  to  the  revelation  itself,  there  is  no 
use  talking  about  it ;  it  had  to  be  made.  It  would  have 
been  unjust  and  wicked  to  allow  a  man  to  live  in  igno 
rance  of  the  fact  that  such  a  thing  had  happened  to 
him  without  his  knowing  it.  But  I  think  I  can  make  it 

123 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

all  right  for  you.  If  you  had  known  when  you  were 
very  young,  in  fact,  when  you  were  in  another  age  of 
man,  that  a  young  girl  in  short  dresses  was  in  love 
with  you,  would  you  have  disdained  her  affection?  " 

' '  I  should  say  not !  ' '  exclaimed  Rupert  Hemphill, 
his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  person  who  had  once  been  that 
girl  in  short  dresses. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Olive,  "  there  could  have  been 
nothing  for  her  to  complain  of,  no  matter  what  she 
knew  or  what  she  did  not  know,  and  there  is  nothing  he 
could  complain  of,  no  matter  what  he  knew  or  did  not 
know.  And  as  both  these  persons  have  passed  entirely 
out  of  existence,  I  think  you  and  I  need  consider  them 
no  longer.  And  we  can  talk  about  tennis  or  bass  fish 
ing,  or  anything  we  like.  And  if  you  are  a  fisherman 
you  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  there  is  first-rate  bass 
fishing  in  the  river  now,  and  that  we  are  talking  of 
getting  up  a  regular  fishing  party.  We  shall  have  to 
go  two  or  three  miles  below  here  where  the  water  is 
deeper  and  there  are  not  so  many  rocks." 

That  night  Mr.  Hemphill  dreamed  hard  of  a  girl 
who  had  loved  him  when  she  was  little,  and  who  con 
tinued  to  love  him  now  that  she  had  grown  to  be  won 
derfully  handsome.  He  was  going  out  to  sail  with 
her  in  a  boat  far  and  far  away,  where  nobody  could 
find  them  or  bring  them  back. 


124 


CHAPTER    XIV 
A   Letter  for  Olive 

THE  next  morning,  about  an  hour  after  breakfast, 
Mr.  Du  Brant  proposed  to  Olive.  He  had  received  a 
letter  the  day  before  which  made  it  probable  that  he 
might  be  recalled  to  Washington  before  the  time  which 
had  been  fixed  for  the  end  of  his  visit  at  Broadstone, 
and  he  consequently  did  not  wish  to  defer  for  a  mo 
ment  longer  than  was  necessary  this  most  important 
business  of  his  life.  He  told  Miss  Asher  that  he  had 
never  truly  loved  before ;  which  was  probably  correct ; 
and  that  as  she  had  raised  his  mind  from  the  common 
things  of  earth,  upon  which  it  had  been  accustomed  to 
grovel,  she  had  made  a  new  man  of  him  in  an  aston 
ishingly  short  time ;  which,  it  is  likely,  was  also  true. 

He  assured  her  that  without  any  regard  to  outside 
circumstances,  he  could  not  live  without  her.  If  at 
any  other  time  he  had  allowed  his  mind  to  dwell  for  a 
moment  upon  matrimony,  he  had  thought  of  family, 
position,  wealth,  social  station,  and  all  that  sort  of 
thing,  but  now  he  thought  of  nothing  but  her,  and  he 
came  to  offer  her  his  heart.  In  fact,  the  man  was  truly 
and  honestly  in  love. 

Inwardly  Olive  smiled.  "  I  can  not  ask  him/'  she 
said  to  herself,  "  to  say  this  again  every  day  before 

125 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

dinner.  He  hasn't  the  wit  of  Claude  Locker,  and 
would  not  be  able  to  vary  his  remarks ;  but  I  can  not 
blast  his  hopes  too  suddenly,  for,  if  I  do  that,  he  will 
instantly  go  away,  and  it  would  not  be  treating  Mrs. 
Easterfield  properly  if  I  were  to  break  up  her  party 
without  her  knowledge.  But  I  will  talk  to  her  about 
it.  And  now  for  him. — Mr.  Du  Brant,"  she  said 
aloud,  speaking  in  English,  although  he  had  proposed 
to  her  in  French,  because  she  thought  she  could  make 
her  own  language  more  impressive,  "  it  is  a  very  seri 
ous  thing  you  have  said  to  me,  and  I  don 't  believe  you 
have  had  time  enough  to  think  about  it  properly.  Now 
don't  interrupt.  I  know  exactly  what  you  would  say. 
You  have  known  me  such  a  little  while  that  even  if 
your  mind  is  made  up  it  can  not  be  properly  made  up, 
and  therefore,  for  your  own  sake,  I  am  going  to  give 
you  a  chance  to  think  it  all  over.  You  must  not  say 
you  don 't  want  to,  because  I  want  you  to ;  and  when 
you  have  thought,  and  thought,  and  know  yourself 
better — now  don't  say  you  can  not  know  yourself  bet 
ter  if  you  have  a  thousand  years  in  which  to  consider 
it — for  though  you  think  that  it  is  true  it  is  not " 

"  And  if  I  rack  my  brains  and  my  heart,"  inter 
rupted  Mr.  Du  Brant,  '  *  and  find  out  that  I  can  never 
change  nor  feel  in  any  other  way  toward  you  than  I 
feel  now,  may  I  then " 

"  Now,  don't  say  anything  about  that,"  said  Olive. 
' '  What  I  want  to  do  now  is  to  treat  you  honorably  and 
fairly,  and  to  give  you  a  chance  to  withdraw  if,  after 
sober  consideration,  you  think  it  best  to  do  so.  I  be 
lieve  that  every  young  man  who  thinks  himself  com 
pelled  to  propose  marriage  in  such  hot  haste  ought  to 

126 


A    LETTER    FOR    OLIVE 

have  a  chance  to  reflect  quietly  and  coolly,  and  to  with 
draw  if  he  wants  to.  And  that  is  all,  Mr.  Du  Brant. 
I  must  be  off  this  minute,  for  Mrs.  Easterfield  is  over 
there  waiting  for  me. ' ' 

Mr.  Du  Brant  walked  thoughtfully  away.  "  I  do 
not  understand, ' '  he  said  to  himself  in  French,  '  *  why 
she  did  not  tell  me  I  need  not  speak  to  her  again  about 
it.  The  situation  is  worthy  of  diplomatic  considera 
tion,  and  I  will  give  it  that. ' ' 

From  a  distance  Claude  Locker  beheld  his  Austrian 
enemy  walking  alone,  and  without  a  book. 

11  Something  has  happened,"  he  thought,  "  and 
the  fellow  has  changed  his  tactics.  Before,  under 
cover  of  a  French  novel,  he  was  a  snake  in  the  grass, 
now  he  is  a  snake  hopping  along  on  the  tip  of  his 
tail.  Perhaps  he  thinks  this  is  a  better  way  to  keep 
a  lookout  upon  her.  I  believe  he  is  more  dangerous 
than  he  was  before,  for  I  don't  know  whether  a 
snake  on  tip  tail  jumps  or  falls  down  upon  his  vic 
tims." 

One  thing  Mr.  Locker  was  firmly  determined  upon. 
He  was  going  to  try  to  see  Olive  as  soon  as  it  was  pos 
sible  before  luncheon,  and  impress  upon  her  the  ardent 
nature  of  his  feelings  toward  her ;  he  did  not  believe  he 
had  done  this  yet.  He  looked  about  him.  The  party, 
excepting  himself  and  Mr.  Du  Brant,  were  on  the  front 
lawn ;  he  would  join  them  and  satirize  the  gloomy  Aus 
trian.  If  Olive  could  be  made  to  laugh  at  him  it  would 
be  like  preparing  a  garden-bed  with  spade  and  rake 
before  sowing  his  seeds. 

The  rural  mail-carrier  came  earlier  than  usual  that 
day,  and  he  brought  Olive  but  one  letter,  but  as  it  was 

127 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

from  her  father,  she  was  entirely  satisfied,  and  retired 
to  a  bench  to  read  it. 

In  about  ten  minutes  after  that  she  walked  into 
Mrs.  Easterfield's  little  room,  the  open  letter  in  her 
hand.  As  Mrs.  Easterfield  looked  up  from  her  wri 
ting-table  the  girl  seemed  transformed ;  she  was  taller, 
she  was  straighter,  her  face  had  lost  its  bloom,  and  her 
eyes  blazed. 

"  Would  you  believe  it !  "  she  said,  grating  out  the 
words  as  she  spoke.  "  My  father  is  going  to  be  mar 
ried!  " 

Mrs.  Easterfield  dropped  her  pen,  and  her  face  lost 
color.  She  had  always  been  greatly  interested  in 
Lieutenant  Asher.  * '  What !  ' '  she  exclaimed.  * '  He  ? 
And  to  whom  ?  ' : 

"  A  girl  I  used  to  go  to  school  with,"  said  Olive, 
standing  as  if  she  were  framed  in  one  solid  piece. 
"Edith  Marshall,  living  in  Geneva.  She  is  older  than 
I  am,  but  we  were  in  the  same  classes.  They  are  to  be 
married  in  October,  and  she  is  to  sail  for  this  country 
about  the  time  his  ship  comes  home.  He  is  to  be  sta 
tioned  at  Governor's  Island,  and  they  are  to  have  a 
house  there.  He  writes,  and  writes,  and  writes,  about 
how  lovely  it  will  be  for  me  to  have  this  dear  new 
mother.  Me !  To  call  that  thing  mother !  I  shall 
have  no  mother,  but  I  have  lost  my  father."  With 
this  she  threw  herself  upon  a  lounge,  and  burst  into 
passionate  tears.  Mrs.  Easterfield  rose,  and  closed  the 
door. 

Claude  Locker  had  no  opportunity  to  press  his  suit 
before  luncheon,  for  Olive  did  not  come  to  that  meal ; 
she  had  one  of  her  headaches.  Every  one  seemed  to 

128 


A    LETTER    FOR    OLIVE 

appreciate  the  incompleteness  of  the  party,  and  even 
Mrs.  Easterfield  looked  serious,  which  was  not  usual 
with  her.  Mr.  Hemphill  was  much  casib  down,  for  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  talk  to  Olive  in  such  a  way 
that  she  should  not  fail  to  see  that  he  had  taken  to 
heart  her  advice,  and  might  be  depended  upon  to  de 
port  himself  toward  her  as  if  he  had  never  heard  the 
words  she  had  addressed  to  him.  He  had  prepared 
several  topics  for  conversation,  but  as  he  would  not 
waste  these  upon  the  general  company,  he  indulged 
only  in  such  remarks  as  were  necessary  to  good  man 
ners. 

Mr.  Du  Brant  talked  a  good  deal  in  a  perfunctory 
manner,  but  inwardly  he  was  somewhat  elated.  ' '  Her 
emotions  must  have  been  excited  more  than  I  sup 
posed,  ' '  he  thought.  ' '  That  is  not  a  bad  sign. ' ' 

Mrs.  Fox  was  a  little  bit — a  very  little  bit — an 
noyed  because  Mr.  Fox  did  not  make  as  many  facetious 
remarks  as  was  his  custom.  He  seemed  like  one  who, 
in  a  degree,  felt  that  he  lacked  an  audience ;  Mrs.  Fox 
could  see  no  good  reason  for  this. 

When  Mrs.  Easterfield  went  up  to  Olive's  room 
she  found  her  bathing  her  eyes  in  cold  water. 

"  Will  you  lend  me  a  bicycle?  "  said  Olive.  "  I 
am  sure  you  have  one. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  looked  at  her  in  amazement. 

' '  I  want  to  go  to  my  uncle, ' '  said  Olive.  ' '  He  is 
now  all  I  have  left  in  this  world.  I  have  been  think 
ing,  and  thinking  about  everything,  and  I  want  to  go  to 
him.  Whatever  has  come  between  us  will  vanish  as 
soon  as  he  sees  me,  I  am  sure  of  that.  I  do  not  know 
why  he  did  not  want  me  to  come  back  to  him,  but  he 

129 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

will  want  me  now,  and  I  should  like  to  start  immedi 
ately  without  anybody  seeing  me. ' ' 

"But  a  bicycle!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easterfield. 
' '  You  can 't  go  that  way.  I  will  send  you  in  the  car 
riage.  ' ' 

'  *  No,  no,  no, ' '  cried  Olive ;  ' '  I  want  to  go  quietly. 
I  want  to  go  so  that  I  can  leave  my  wheel  at  the  door 
and  go  right  in.  I  have  a  short  walking-skirt,  and  I 
can  wear  that.  Please  let  me  have  the  bicycle. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  made  Olive  sit  down  and  she  talked 
to  her,  but  there  was  no  changing  the  girl 's  determina 
tion  to  go  to  her  uncle,  to  go  alone,  and  to  go  immedi 
ately. 


130 


CHAPTER    XV 

Olive's  Bicycle  Trip 

DESPITE  Olive's  desire  to  set  forth  immediately  on 
her  bicycle  trip,  it  was  past  the  middle  of  the  after 
noon  when  she  left  Broadstone.  She  went  out  quietly, 
not  by  the  usual  driveway,  and  was  soon  upon  the  turn 
pike  road.  As  she  sped  along  the  cool  air  upon  her 
face  refreshed  her ;  and  the  knowledge  that  she  was  so 
rapidly  approaching  the  dear  old  toll-gate,  where,  even 
if  she  did  not  find  her  uncle  at  the  house,  she  could  sit 
with  old  Jane  until  he  came  back,  gave  her  strength 
and  courage. 

Up  a  long  hill  she  went,  and  down  again  to  the 
level  country.  Then  there  was  a  slighter  rise  in  the 
road,  and  when  she  reached  its  summit  she  saw,  less 
than  a  mile  away,  the  toll-gate  surrounded  by  its  trees, 
the  thick  foliage  of  the  fruit-trees  in  the  garden,  the 
little  tollhouse  and  the  long  bar,  standing  up  high  at 
its  customary  incline  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the 
road.  Down  the  little  hill  she  went ;  and  then,  stead 
ily  and  swiftly,  onward.  Presently  she  saw  that  some 
one  was  on  the  piazza  by  the  side  of  the  tollhouse ;  his 
back  was  toward  her,  he  was  sitting  in  his  accustomed 
arm-chair;  she  could  not  be  mistaken;  it  was  her 
uncle. 

11  131 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Now  and  then,  while  upon  the  road,  she  had 
thought  of  what  she  should  say  when  she  first  met 
him,  but  she  had  soon  dismissed  all  ideas  of  precon 
ceived  salutations,  or  explanations.  She  would  be 
there,  and  that  would  be  enough.  Her  father's  letter 
was  in  her  pocket,  and  that  was  too  much.  All  she 
meant  to  do  was  to  glide  up  to  that  piazza,  spring  up 
the  steps,  and  present  herself  to  her  uncle's  aston 
ished  gaze  before  he  had  any  idea  that  any  one  was 
approaching. 

She  was  within  twenty  feet  of  the  piazza  when  she 
saw  that  her  uncle  was  not  alone ;  there  was  some  one 
sitting  in  front  of  him  who  had  been  concealed  by  his 
broad  shoulders.  This  person  was  a  woman.  She 
had  caught  sight  of  Olive,  and  stuck  her  head  out  on 
one  side  to  look  at  her.  Upon  her  dough-like  face 
there  was  a  grin,  and  in  her  eye  a  light  of  triumph. 
With  one  quick  glance  she  seemed  to  say:  "  Ah,  ha, 
you  find  me  here,  do  you?  What  have  you  to  say  to 
that?  " 

Olive 's  heart  stood  still.  That  woman,  that  Maria 
Port,  sitting  in  close  converse  with  her  uncle  in  that 
public  place  where  she  had  never  seen  any  one  but 
men !  That  horrid  woman  at  such  a  moment  as  this ! 
She  could  not  speak  to  her ;  she  could  not  speak  to  her 
uncle  in  her  presence.  She  could  not  stop.  With 
what  she  had  on  her  mind,  and  with  what  she  had  in 
her  pocket,  it  would  be  impossible  to  say  a  word  before 
that  Maria  Port !  Without  a  swerve  she  sped  on,  and 
passed  the  toll-gate.  She  only  knew  one  thing;  she 
could  not  stop. 

The  wildest  suspicions  now  rushed  into  her  mind. 
132 


OLIVE'S    BICYCLE    TRIP 

Why  should  her  uncle  be  thus  exposing  himself  to  the 
public  gaze  with  Maria  Port?  Why  did  it  give  the 
woman  such  diabolical  pleasure  to  be  seen  there  with 
him?  With  a  mind  already  prepared  for  such  sick 
ening  revelations,  Olive  was  convinced  that  it  could 
mean  nothing  but  that  her  uncle  intended  to  marry 
Maria  Port.  What  else  could  it  mean  ?  But  no  mat 
ter  what  it  meant,  she  could  not  stop.  She  could  not 
go  back. 

On  went  her  bicycle,  and  presently  she  gained  suffi 
cient  command  over  herself  to  know  that  she  should 
not  ride  into  the  town.  But  what  else  could  she  do? 
She  could  not  go  back  while  those  two  were  sitting  on 
the  piazza.  Suddenly  she  remembered  the  shunpike. 
She  had  never  been  on  it,  but  she  knew  where  it  left 
the  road,  and  where  it  reentered  it.  So  she  kept  on 
her  course,  and  in  a  few  minutes  had  reached  the  nar 
row  country  road.  There  were  ruts  here  and  there, 
and  sometimes  there  were  stony  places ;  there  were 
small  hills,  mostly  rough ;  and  there  were  few  stretches 
of  smooth  road ;  but  on  went  Olive ;  sometimes  trying 
with  much  effort  to  make  good  time,  and  always  with 
tears  in  her  eyes,  dimming  the  roadway,  the  prospect, 
and  everything  in  the  world. 

'  There  now !  ' '  exclaimed  Maria  Port,  springing 
to  her  feet.  ' '  What  have  you  got  to  say  to  that  ?  If 
that  isn't  brazen  I  never  saw  brass!  " 

* '  What  do  you  mean  ?  ' '  said  the  captain,  rising  in 
his  chair. 

1 '  Mean  ?  ' '  said  Maria  Port,  leaning  over  the  rail 
ing.  ' '  Look  there !  Do  you  see  that  girl  getting  away 
as  fast  as  she  can  work  herself  ?  That 's  your  precious 

133 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

niece,  Olive  Asher,  scooting  past  us  with  her  nose  in 
the  air  as  if  we  was  sticks  and  stones  by  the  side  of  the 
road.  What  have  you  got  to  say  to  that,  Captain 
John,  I  'd  like  to  know  ?  ' ' 

The  captain  ran  down  the  path.  ' '  You  don 't  mean 
to  say  that  is  Olive !  "  he  cried. 

"  That's  who  it  is,"  answered  Miss  Port.  "  She 
looked  me  square  in  the  face  as  she  dashed  by.  Not  a 
word  for  you,  not  a  word  for  me.  Impudence !  That 
doesn't  express  it!  ' 

The  captain  paid  no  attention  to  her,  but  ran  into 
the  garden.  Old  Jane  was  standing  near  the  house 
door.  * '  Was  that  Miss  Olive  ?  "  he  cried.  * '  Did  you 
see  her?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  old  Jane,  "  it  was  her.  I  saw  her 
comin',  and  I  came  out  to  meet  her.  But  she  just  shot 
through  the  toll-gate  as  if  she  didn  't  know  there  was  a 
toll  on  bicycles." 

The  captain  stood  still  in  the  garden-path.  lie 
could  not  believe  that  Olive  had  done  this  to  treat  him 
with  contempt.  She  must  have  heard  some  news. 
There  must  be  something  the  matter.  She  was  going 
into  town  at  the  top  of  her  speed  to  send  a  tele 
gram,  intending  to  stop  as  she  came  back.  She  might 
have  stopped  anyway  if  it  had  not  been  for  that 
good-for-nothing  Maria  Port.  She  hated  Maria,  and 
he  hated  her  himself,  at  this  moment,  as  she  stood 
by  his  side,  asking  him  what  was  the  matter  with 
him. 

"  It's  no  more  than  you  have  to  expect,"  said  she. 
"  She's  a  fine  lady,  a  navy  lady,  a  foreign  lady,  that's 
been  with  the  aristocrats!  She's  got  good  clothes  011 

134 


OLIVE'S    BICYCLE    TRIP 

that  she  never  wore  here,  and  where  I  guess  she  had 
a  pretty  stupid  time,  judgin'  from  how  they  carry 
on  at  that  Easterfield  place.  Why  in  the  world  should 
she  want  to  stop  and  speak  to  such  persons  as  you 
and  me?  " 

The  captain  paid  no  attention  to  these  remarks. 
' '  If  she  doesn  't  want  to  send  a  telegram,  I  don 't  see 
what  she  is  going  to  town  for  in  such  a  hurry.  I  sup 
pose  she  thought  she  could  get  there  sooner  than  a 
man  could  go  on  a  horse,"  he  said. 

"  Telegram!  "  sneered  Miss  Port.  "  It's  a  great 
deal  easier  to  send  telegrams  from  the  gap." 

"  Then  it  is  something  worse,"  he  thought.  Per 
haps  she  might  be  running  away,  though  what  in  the 
world  she  was  running  from  he  could  not  imagine. 
Anyway,  he  must  see  her;  he  must  find  out.  When 
she  came  back  she  must  not  pass  again,  and  if  she  did 
not  come  back  he  must  go  after  her.  He  ran  to  the 
road  and  put  down  the  bar,  calling  to  old  Jane  to  come 
there  and  keep  a  sharp  lookout.  Then  he  quickly  re 
turned  to  the  house. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do?  "  asked  Miss  Port. 
' '  I  never  saw  a  man  in  such  a  fluster. ' ' 

"  If  she  does  not  come  back  very  soon,"  said  he, 
"  I  shall  go  to  town  after  her." 

' '  Then  I  suppose  I  might  as  well  be  going  myself, ' ' 
said  she."  "  And  by  the  way,  captain,  if  you  are 
going  to  town,  why  don't  you  take  a  seat  in  my  car 
riage  v  Dear  knows  me  and  the  boy  don 't  fill  it. ' ' 

But  the  captain  would  consider  no  such  invitation. 
When  he  met  Olive  he  did  not  want  Maria  Port  to  be 
along.  He  did  not  answer,  and  went  into  the  house  to 

135 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

make  some  change  in  his  attire.  Old  Jane  would  not 
let  Olive  pass,  and  if  he  met  her  on  the  road  or  in  the 
town  he  wanted  to  be  well  dressed. 

Miss  Port  still  stood  in  the  path  by  the  house  door. 
"  That's  not  what  I  call  polite,"  said  she,  "  but  he's 
awful  flustered,  and  I  don't  mind." 

Far  from  minding,  Maria  was  pleased;  it  pleased 
her  to  know  that  his  niece 's  conduct  had  flustered  him. 
The  more  that  girl  flustered  him  the  better  it  would 
be,  and  she  smiled  with  considerable  satisfaction.  If 
she  could  get  that  girl  out  of  the  way  she  believed  she 
would  find  but  little  difficulty  in  carrying  out  her 
scheme  to  embitter  the  remainder  of  the  good  captain's 
life.  She  did  not  put  it  in  that  way  to  herself ;  but  that 
wras  the  real  character  of  the  scheme. 

Suddenly  an  idea  struck  her.  It  was  of  no  use  for 
her  to  stand  and  wait,  for  she  knew  she  would  not  be 
able  to  induce  the  captain  to  go  with  her.  It  would 
be  a  great  thing  if  she  could,  for  to  drive  into  town 
with  him  by  her  side  would  go  far  to  make  the  people 
of  Glenford  understand  what  was  going  to  happen. 
But,  if  she  could  not  do  this,  she  could  do  something 
else.  If  she  started  away  immediately  she  might  meet 
that  Asher  girl  coming  back,  and  it  would  be  a  very 
fine  thing  if  she  could  have  an  interview  with  her  be 
fore  she  saw  her  uncle. 

She  made  a  quick  step  toward  the  house  and  looked 
in.  The  captain  was  not  visible,  but  old  Jane  was 
standing  near  the  back  door  of  the  tollhouse.  The  op 
portunity  was  not  to  be  lost. 

:<  Good-by,  John,"  said  she  in  a  soft  tone,  but  quite 
loud  enough  for  the  old  woman  to  hear.  "  I  '11  go  home 

136 


OLIVE'S    BICYCLE    TRIP 

first,  for  I've  got  to  see  to  gettin'  supper  ready  for 
you.  So  good-by,  John,  for  a  little  while. ' '  And  she 
kissed  her  hand  to  the  inside  of  the  house. 

Then  she  hurried  out  of  the  gate ;  got  into  the  little 
phaeton  which  was  waiting  for  her  under  a  tree ;  and 
drove  away.  She  had  come  there  that  afternoon  on 
the  pretense  of  consulting  the  captain  about  her 
father's  health,  which  she  said  disturbed  her,  and  she 
had  requested  the  privilege  of  sitting  on  the  toll-gate 
piazza,  because  she  had  always  wanted  to  sit  there,  and 
had  never  been  invited.  The  captain  had  not  invited 
her  then,  but  as  she  had  boldly  marched  to  the  piazza 
and  taken  a  seat,  he  had  been  obliged  to  follow. 

Captain  Asher,  wearing  a  good  coat  and  hat,  re 
lieved  old  Jane  at  her  post,  and  waited  and  waited  for 
Olive  to  come  back.  lie  did  not  for  a  moment  think 
she  might  return  by  the  shunpike,  for  that  was  a  rough 
road,  not  fit  for  a  bicycle.  And  if  she  passed  this  way 
once,  why  should  she  object  to  doing  it  again  ? 

When  more  than  time  enough  had  elapsed  for  her 
return  from  the  town,  he  started  forth  with  a  heavy 
heart  to  follow  her.  He  told  old  Jane  that  if  for  any 
reason  he  should  be  detained  in  town  until  late,  he 
would  take  supper  with  Mr.  Port,  and  if,  although 
he  did  not  expect  this,  he  should  not  come  back  that 
night,  the  Ports  would  know  of  his  whereabouts.  He 
did  not  take  his  horse  and  buggy  because  he  thought 
it  would  be  in  his  way.  If  he  met  Olive  in  the  road  he 
could  more  easily  stop  and  talk  to  her  if  he  were  walk 
ing  than  if  he  had  a  horse  to  take  care  of. 

"  I  hope  you're  not  runnin'  after  Miss  Olive,"  said 
old  Jane. 

137 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

The  captain  did  not  wish  his  old  servant  to  imag 
ine  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  run  after  his 
niece,  and  so  he  answered  rather  quickly:  "Of  course 
not/'  Then  he  set  off  toward  the  town.  He  did  not 
walk  very  fast,  for  if  he  met  Olive  he  would  rather 
have  a  talk  with  her  on  the  road  than  in  Glenf  ord. 

He  walked  on  and  on,  not  with  his  eyes  on  the 
smooth  surface  of  the  pike,  but  looking  out  afar, 
hoping  that  he  might  soon  see  the  figure  of  a  girl  on  a 
bicycle ;  arid  thus  it  was  that  he  passed  the  entrance  to 
the  shunpike  without  noticing  that  a  bicycle  track 
turned  into  it. 

Olive  struggled  on,  and  the  road  did  not  improve. 
She  worked  hard  with  her  body,  but  still  harder  with 
her  mind.  It  seemed  to  her  as  though  everything  were 
endeavoring  to  crush  her,  and  that  it  was  almost  suc 
ceeding.  If  she  had  been  in  her  own  room,  seated,  or 
walking  the  floor,  indignation  against  her  uncle  would 
have  given  her  the  same  unnatural  vigor  and  energy 
which  had  possessed  her  when  she  read  her  father's 
letter ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  be  angry  when  one  is  physi 
cally  tired  and  depressed,  and  this  was  Olive's  condi 
tion  now.  Once  she  dismounted,  sat  down  on  a  piece 
of  rock,  and  cried.  The  rest  was  of  service  to  her,  but 
she  could  not  stay  there  long ;  the  road  was  too  lonely. 
She  must  push  on.  So  on  she  pressed,  sometimes  walk 
ing,  and  sometimes  on  her  wheel,  the  pedals  apparently 
growing  stiffer  at  every  turn.  Slight  mishaps  she  did 
not  mind,  but  a  fear  began  to  grow  upon  her  that  she 
would  never  be  able  to  reach  Broadstone  at  all.  But 
after  a  time — a  very  long  time  it  seemed — the  road 
grew  more  level  and  smooth ;  and  then  ahead  she  saw 

138 


OLIVE'S    BICYCLE    TRIP 

the  white  surface  of  the  turnpike  shining  as  it  passed 
the  end  of  her  road.  When  she  should  emerge  on  that 
smooth,  hard  road  it  could  not  be  long,  even  if  she 
went  slowly,  before  she  reached  home.  She  was  still 
some  fifty  yards  from  the  pike  when  she  saw  a  man 
upon  it,  walking  southward. 

As  Dick  Lancaster  passed  the  end  of  the  road  he 
lifted  his  head,  and  looked  along  it.  It  was  strange 
that  he  should  do  so,  for  since  he  had  started  on  his 
homeward  walk  he  had  not  raised  his  eyes  from  the 
ground.  He  had  reached  Broadstone  soon  after  lunch 
eon,  before  Olive  had  left  on  her  wheel,  and  had  passed 
rather  a  stupid  time,  playing  tennis  with  Claude 
Locker.  He  had  seen  but  little  of  Mrs.  Easterfield, 
whose  mind  was  evidently  occupied.  Once  she  had 
seemed  about  to  take  him  into  her  confidence,  but  had 
suddenly  excused  herself,  and  had  gone  into  the  house. 
When  the  game  was  finished  Locker  advised  him  to  go 
home. 

"  She  is  not  likely  to  be  down  until  dinner  time," 
he  had  said,  "  and  this  evening  I'll  defend  our  cause 
against  those  other  fellows.  I  have  several  good 
things  in  my  mind  that  I  am  sure  will  interest  her, 
and  I  don't  believe  there's  any  use  courting  a  girl 
unless  you  interest  her. ' ' 

Lancaster  had  taken  the  advice,  and  had  left  much 
earlier  than  was  usual. 


139 


CHAPTER    XVI 

Mr.  Lancaster  accepts  a  Mission 

WHEN  Dick  Lancaster  saw  Olive  he  stopped  with  a 
start,  and  then  ran  toward  her. 

"  Miss  Asher!  "  he  exclaimed.  "  What  are  you 
doing  here  ?  What  is  the  matter  ?  You  look  pale. ' ' 

When  she  saw  him  coming  Olive  had  dismounted, 
not  with  the  active  spring  usual  with  her,  but  heavily 
and  clumsily.  She  did  not  even  smile  as  she  spoke  to 
him. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Mr.  Lancaster,"  she  said. 
"  I  am  on  my  way  back  to  Broadstone,  and  I  would 
like  to  send  a  message  to  my  uncle  by  you. ' ' 

' '  Back  from  where  1  And  why  on  this  road  1  "he 
was  about  to  ask,  but  he  checked  himself.  He  saw 
that  she  trembled  as  she  stood. 

"  Miss  Asher,"  said  he,  "  you  must  stop  and  rest. 
Let  me  take  your  wheel  and  come  over  to  this  bank 
and  sit  down." 

She  sat  down  in  the  shade  and  took  off  her  hat ;  and 
for  a  moment  she  quietly  enjoyed  the  cool  breeze  upon 
her  head.  He  did  not  want  to  annoy  her  with  ques 
tions,  but  he  could  not  help  saying : 

"  You  look  very  tired." 

"  I  ought  to  be  tired,"  she  answered,  "  for  I  have 
140 


LANCASTER    ACCEPTS    A    MISSION 

gone  over  a  perfectly  dreadful  road.  Of  course,  you 
wonder  why  I  came  this  way,  and  the  best  thing  for 
me  to  do  is  to  begin  at  the  beginning  and  to  tell  you  all 
about  it,  so  that  you  will  know  what  I  have  been  doing, 
and  then  understand  what  I  would  like  you  to  do  for 
me." 

So  she  told  him  all  her  tale,  and,  telling  it,  seemed 
to  relieve  her  mind  while  her  tired  body  rested.  Dick 
listened  with  earnest  avidity.  He  lost  not  the  slight 
est  change  in  her  expression  as  she  spoke.  He  was 
shocked  when  he  heard  of  her  father ;  he  was  grieved 
when  he  imagined  how  she  must  have  felt  when  the 
news  came  to  her ;  he  was  angry  when  he  heard  of  the 
impertinent  glare  of  Maria  Port;  and  his  heart  was 
torn  when  he  knew  of  this  poor  girl 's  disappointment, 
of  her  soul-harrowing  conjectures,  of  her  wearisome 
and  painful  progress  along  that  rough  road;  of 
which  progress  she  said  but  little,  although  its  con 
sequences  he  could  plainly  see.  All  these  things 
showed  themselves  upon  his  countenance  as  he  gazed 
upon  her  and  listened,  not  only  with  his  ears,  but 
his  heart. 

1 '  I  shall  be  more  than  glad, ' '  he  said,  when  she  had 
finished, '  *  to  carry  any  message,  or  to  do  anything  you 
want  me  to  do.  But  I  must  first  relieve  you  of  one  of 
your  troubles.  Your  uncle  has  not  the  slightest  idea 
of  marrying  Miss  Port.  I  don't  believe  he  would 
marry  anybody;  but,  of  all  women,  not  that  vulgar 
creature.  Let  me  assure  you,  Miss  Asher,  that  I  have 
heard  him  talk  about  her,  and  I  know  he  has  the  most 
contemptuous  opinion  of  her.  I  have  heard  him  make 
fun  of  her,  and  I  don't  believe  he  would  have  anything 

141 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

to  do  with  her  if  it  were  not  for  her  father,  who  is  one 
of  his  oldest  friends." 

She  looked  at  him  incredulously.  "  And  yet  they 
were  sitting  close  together, ' '  she  said ;  "  so  close  that 
at  first  I  did  not  see  her;  apparently  talking  in  the 
most  private  manner  in  a  very  public  place.  They 
surely  looked  very  much  like  an  engaged  couple  as  I 
have  noticed  them.  And  old  Jane  has  told  me  that 
everybody  knows  she  is  trying  to  trap  him;  and 
surely  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  she  has  suc 
ceeded." 

Dick  shook  his  head.  "  Impossible,  Miss  Asher," 
he  said.  "  He  never  would  have  such  a  woman.  I 
know  him  well  enough  to  be  absolutely  sure  of  that. 
Of  course,  he  treats  her  kindly,  and  perhaps  he  is  soci 
able  with  her.  It  is  his  nature  to  be  friendly,  arid  he 
has  known  her  for  a  long  time.  But  marry  her ! 
Never !  I  am  certain,  Miss  Asher,  he  would  never  do 
that." 

"  I  wish  I  could  believe  it,"  said  she. 

"  I  can  easily  prove  it  to  you,"  he  said.  li  I  will 
take  your  message  to  your  uncle,  I  will  tell  him  all 
you  want  me  to  tell  him,  and  then  I  will  ask  him, 
frankly  and  plainly,  about  Miss  Port.  I  do  not  in 
the  least  object  to  doing  it.  I  am  well  enough  ac 
quainted  with  him  to  know  that  he  is  a  frank,  plain 
man.  I  am  sure  he  will  be  much  amused  at  your  sup 
position,  and  angry,  too,  when  I  tell  him  of  the  way 
that  woman  looked  at  you  and  so  prevented  you  from 
stopping  when  you  had  come  expressly  to  see  him. 
Then  I  will  immediately  come  to  Broadstone  to  relieve 
your  mind  in  regard  to  the  Maria  Port  business,  and  to 

142 


LANCASTER    ACCEPTS    A    MISSION 

bring  you  whatever  message  your  uncle  has  to  send 
you." 

' '  No,  no, ' '  said  Olive,  ' '  you  must  not  do  that.  It 
would  be  too  much  to  come  back  to-day.  You  have 
relieved  my  mind  somewhat  about  that  woman,  and 
I  am  perfectly  willing  to  wait  until  to-morrow,  when 
you  can  tell  me  exactly  how  everything  is,  and  let  ine 
know  when  my  uncle  would  like  me  to  come  and  see 
him.  I  think  it  will  be  better  next  time  not  to  take 
him  by  surprise.  But  I  would  be  very,  very  grateful 
to  you,  Mr.  Lancaster,  if  you  would  come  as  early  in 
the  morning  as  you  can.  I  can  wait  very  well  until 
then,  now  that  my  mind  is  easier,  but  I  am  afraid  that 
when  to-morrow  begins  I  shall  be  very  impatient.  My 
troubles  are  always  worse  in  the  morning.  But-  you 
must  not  walk.  My  uncle  has  a  horse  and  buggy. 
But  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  let  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  send  for  you.  I  know  she  will  be  glad  to 
do  it." 

Dick  assured  her  that  he  did  not  wish  to  be  sent 
for;  that  he  would  borrow  the  captain's  horse,  and 
would  be  at  Broadstone  as  early  as  was  proper  to  make 
a  visit. 

' '  Proper !  ' '  exclaimed  Olive.  "  In  a  case  like  this 
any  time  is  proper.  In  Mrs.  Easterfield  's  name  I  invite 
you  to  breakfast.  I  know  she  will  be  glad  to  have  me 
do  it.  And  now  I  must  go  on.  You  are  very,  very 
good,  and  I  am  very  grateful. ' ' 

Dick  could  not  say  that  he  was  more  grateful  for 
being  allowed  to  help  her  than  she  could  possibly  be 
for  being  helped,  but  his  face  showed  it,  and  if  she  had 
looked  at  him  she  would  have  known  it. 

143 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  Miss  Asher,"  he  exclaimed  as  she  rose,  "  your 
skirt  is  covered  with  dust.  You  must  have  fallen." 

"  I  did  have  oue  fall,"  she  said,  "  but  I  was  so 
worried  I  did  not  mind. ' ' 

' '  But  you  can  not  go  back  in  that  plight, ' '  he  said ; 
"  let  me  dust  your  skirt."  And  breaking  a  little 
branch  from  a  bush,  he  proceeded  to  make  her  look  pre 
sentable.  '  *  And  now, ' '  said  he,  when  she  had  compli 
mented  him  upon  his  skill,  "  I  will  walk  with  you  to 
the  entrance  of  the  grounds.  Perhaps  as  you  are  so 
tired, ' '  he  said  hesitatingly,  * '  I  can  help  you  along,  so 
that  you  will  not  have  to  work  so  hard  yourself. ' ' 

* '  Oh,  no, ' '  she  answered ;  *  *  that  is  not  at  all  neces 
sary.  When  I  am  on  the  turnpike  I  can  go  beauti 
fully.  I  feel  ever  so  much  rested  and  stronger,  and  it 
is  all  due  to  you.  So  you  see,  although  you  will  not  go 
with  me,  you  will  help  me  very  much."  And  she 
smiled  as  she  spoke.  He  truly  had  helped  her  very 
much. 

Dick  was  unwilling  that  she  should  go  on  alone,  al 
though  it  was  still  broad  daylight  and  there  was  no  pos 
sible  danger,  and  he  was  also  unwilling  because  he 
wanted  to  go  with  her,  but  there  was  no  use  saying 
anything  or  thinking  anything,  and  so  he  stood  and 
watched  her  rolling  along  until  she  had  passed  the  top 
of  a  little  hill,  and  had  departed  from  his  view.  Then 
he  ran  to  the  top  of  the  little  hill,  and  watched  her  un 
til  she  was  entirely  out  of  sight. 

The  rest  of  the  way  to  the  toll-gate  seemed  very 
short  to  Dick,  but  he  had  time  enough  to  make  up  his 
mind  that  he  would  see  the  captain  at  the  earliest  pos 
sible  moment ;  that  he  would  deliver  his  message  and 

144 


LANCASTER    ACCEPTS    A    MISSION 

the  letter  of  Lieutenant  Asher ;  that  he  would  immedi 
ately  bring  up  the  matter  of  Maria  Port  and  let  the 
captain  know  the  mischief  that  woman  had  done. 
Then,  armed  with  the  assurances  the  captain  would 
give  him,  he  would  start  for  Broadstone  after  supper, 
and  carry  the  good  news  to  Olive.  It  would  be  a  shame 
to  let  that  dear  girl  remain  in  suspense  for  the  whole 
night,  when  he,  by  riding,  or  even  walking  an  incon 
siderable  number  of  miles,  could  relieve  her.  He 
found  old  Jane  in  the  tollhouse. 

* '  Where  is  the  captain  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  The  captain?  "  she  repeated.  "  He's  in  town 
takin'  supper  with  his  sweetheart." 

Dick  stared  at  her. 

1  *  Perhaps  you  haven 't  heard  that  he 's  engaged  to 
Maria  Port, ' '  said  the  woman ;  ' '  and  I  don 't  wonder 
you  're  taken  back !  But  I  suppose  everybody  will  soon 
know  it  now,  and  the  sooner  the  better,  I  say. ' ' 

"  What  are  you  talking  about  t  "  exclaimed  Dick. 
' '  You  don 't  mean  to  tell  me  that  the  captain  is  going  to 
marry  Miss  Port  ?  ' ' 

' (  Whether  he  wants  to  or  not,  he 's  gone  so  far  he  '11 
have  to.  I  've  knowed  for  a  long  time  she 's  been  after 
him,  but  I  didn't  think  she'd  catch  him  just  yet." 

"  I  don't  believe  it."  cried  Dick.  "  It  must  be  a 
mistake  !  How  do  you  know  it  1  ' : 

"  Know !  "  said  old  Jane,  who,  ordinarily  a  taciturn 
woman,  was  now  excited  and  inclined  to  volubility. 
"  Don't  you  suppose  I've  got  eyes  and  ears?  Didn't 
I  see  them  for  ever  and  ever  so  long  sittin '  out  on  this 
piazza,  where  everybody  could  see  'em,  a-spoonin '  like  a 
couple  of  young  people ?  And  didn't  I  see  'em  tearin' 

145 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

themselves  asunder  as  if  they  couldn't  bear  to  be  apart 
for  an  hour  ?  And  didn  't  I  hear  her  tell  him  she  was 
goin '  home  to  get  an  extry  good  supper  for  him  ?  And 
didn't  I  hear  her  call  him  '  dear  John,'  and  kiss  her 
hand  to  him.  And  if  you  don 't  believe  me  you  can  go 
into  the  kitchen  and  ask  Mary;  she  heard  the  '  dear 
John  '  and  saw  the  hand-kissin'.  And  then  didn't  he 
tell  me  he  was  goin'  to  the  Ports'  to  supper,  and  if  he 
stayed  late  and  anybody  asked  for  him — meaning  you, 
most  probable,  and  I  think  he  might  have  left  some- 
thin'  more  of  a  message  for  you — that  he  was  to  be 
found  with  the  Ports — with  Maria  most  likely,  for  the 
old  man  goes  to  bed  early  ?  ' : 

Dick  made  no  answer ;  he  was  standing  motionless 
looking  out  upon  the  flowers  in  the  garden. 

"  And  perhaps  you  haven't  heard  of  Miss  Olive 
comin'  past  on  a  bicycle,"  old  Jane  remarked.  "  I 
saw  her  comin',  and  I  knew  by  the  look  on  her  face 
that  it  made  her  sick  to  see  that  woman  sittin'  here, 
and  I  don 't  blame  her  a  bit.  When  he  started  so  early 
for  town  I  thought  he  might  be  intendin'  to  look  for 
her,  and  yet  be  in  time  for  the  Ports'  supper,  but  she 
didn 't  come  back  this  way  at  all,  and  I  expect  she  went 
home  by  the  shunpike. ' ' 

"  Which  she  did,"  said  Dick,  showing  by  this  re 
mark  that  he  was  listening  to  what  the  old  woman  was 
saying. 

' '  But  he  cut  me  mighty  short  when  I  asked  him, '  ' 
continued  old  Jane.  "  I  tried  to  ease  his  mind,  but 
as  I  found  his  mind  didn 't  need  no  easin ',  I  minded  my 
own  business,  just  as  he  was  mindin'  his.  And  now, 
sir,  you  '11  have  to  eat  your  supper  alone  this  time. ' ' 

146 


LANCASTER    ACCEPTS    A    MISSION 

If  Dick's  supper  had  consisted  of  nectar  and  the 
brains  of  nightingales  he  would  not  have  noticed  it; 
and,  until  late  in  the  evening,  he  sat  in  the  arbor, 
anxiously  waiting  for  the  captain's  return.  About  ten 
o'clock  old  Jane,  sleepy  from  having  sat  up  so  long, 
called  to  him  from  the  door  that  he  might  as  well  come 
in  and  let  her  lock  up  the  house.  The  captain  was  not 
coming  home  that  night.  He  had  stayed  with  the  Ports 
once  before,  when  the  old  man  was  sick. 

"  I  guess  he's  got  a  better  reason  for  stayin'  to 
night,"  she  said.  "  It'll  be  a  great  card  for  that 
Maria  when  the  Glenford  people  knows  it,  and  they'll 
know  it  you  may  be  sure,  if  she  has  to  go  and  walk  the 
soles  of  her  feet  off  tellin'  them.  One  thing's  mighty 
sure,"  she  continued.  "I'm  not  goin'  to  stay  here 
with  her  in  the  house.  He  '11  have  to  get  somebody  else 
to  help  him  take  toll.  But  I  guess  she'll  want  to  do 
that  herself.  Nothin '  would  suit  her  better  than  to  be 
sittin '  all  day  in  the  tollhouse  talkin '  scandal  to  every 
body  that  goes  by. ' ' 


13  147 


CHAPTER    XVII 

Dick  is  not  a  Prompt  Bearer  of  News 

WHEX  the  captain  reached  Glenford,  and  before  he 
went  to  the  Ports'  he  went  to  the  telegraph-office,  and 
made  inquiries  at  various  other  places,  but  his  niece 
had  not  been  seen  in  town.  He  wandered  about  so 
long  and  asked  so  many  questions  that  it  was  getting 
dark  when  he  suddenly  thought  of  the  shunpike.  He 
had  not  thought  of  it  before,  for  it  was  an  unfit  road 
for  bicycles,  but  now  he  saw  that  he  had  been  a  fool. 
That  was  the  only  way  she  could  have  gone  back. 

Hurrying  to  a  livery-stable,  he  hired  a  horse  and 
buggy  and  a  lantern,  and  drove  to  the  shunpike. 
There  he  plainly  saw  the  track  of  the  bicycle  as  it  had 
turned  into  that  rough  road.  Then  he  drove  on,  ex 
amining  every  foot  of  the  way,  fearful  that  he  might 
see,  lying  senseless  by  the  side  of  the  road,  the  figure 
of  a  girl,  perhaps  unconscious  from  fatigue,  perhaps 
dead  from  an  accident. 

When  at  last  he  emerged  upon  the  turnpike  he  lost 
the  track  of  the  bicycle,  but  still  he  went  on,  all  the 
way  to  Broadstone ;  a  girl  might  be  lying  senseless  by 
the  side  of  the  road,  even  on  the  pike,  which  at  this 
time  was  not  much  frequented.  Thus  assuring  him 
self  that  Olive  had  reached  Broadstone  in  safety,  or  at 

148 


DICK    A    SLOW    BEARER    OF    NEWS 

least  had  not  fallen  by  the  way,  he  turned  and  drove 
back  to  town  upon  the  pike,  passing  his  own  toll-gate, 
where  the  bar  was  always  up  after  dark.  He  had 
promised  to  return  the  horse  that  night,  and,  as  he  had 
promised,  he  intended  to  do  it.  It  was  after  nine 
o'clock  when,  returning  from  the  livery-stable,  he 
reached  the  Port  house,  and  saw  Maria  sitting  in  the 
open  doorway. 

She  instantly  ran  out  to  meet  him,  asking  him  some 
what  sharply  why  he  had  disappointed  them.  She 
had  kept  the  supper  waiting  ever  so  long.  He  went  in 
to  see  her  father,  who  was  sitting  up  for  him,  and  she 
busied  herself  in  getting  him  a  fresh  supper.  Nice 
and  hot  the  supper  was,  and  although  his  answers  to 
her  questions  had  not  been  satisfactory,  she  concealed 
her  resentment,  if  she  had  any.  When  the  meal  was 
over  both  father  and  daughter  assured  him  that  it  was 
too  late  for  him  to  go  home  that  night,  and  that  he  must 
stay  with  them.  Tired  and  troubled,  Captain  Asher 
accepted  the  invitation. 

As  soon  as  he  could  get  away  from  the  Port  resi 
dence  the  next  morning  Captain  Asher  went  home. 
He  had  hoped  he  would  have  been  able  to  leave  before 
breakfast,  but  the  solicitous  Maria  would  not  listen  to 
this.  She  prepared  him  a  most  tempting  breakfast, 
cooking  some  of  the  things  with  her  own  hands,  and 
she  was  so  attentive,  so  anxious  to  please,  so  kind  in 
her  suggestions,  and  in  every  way  so  desirous  to  make 
him  happy  through  the  medium  of  savory  food  and 
tender-hearted  concern,  that  she  almost  made  him 
angry.  Never  before,  he  thought,  had  he  seen  a  woman 
make  such  a  coddling  fool  of  herself.  He  knew  very 

149 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

well  what  it  meant,  and  that  provoked  him  still 
more. 

When  at  last  he  got  away  he  walked  home  in  a  bad 
humor;  he  was  even  annoyed  with  Olive.  Granting 
that  what  she  had  done  was  natural  enough  under  the 
circumstances,  and  that  she  had  not  wished  to  stop 
when  she  saw  him  in  company  with  a  woman  she  did  not 
like,  he  thought  she  might  have  considered  him  as  well 
as  herself.  She  should  have  known  that  it  would 
give  him  great  trouble  for  her  to  dash  by  in  that  way. 
and  neither  stop  nor  come  back  to  explain  matters. 
She  must  have  known  that  Maria  Port  was  not  going 
to  stay  always,  and  she  might  have  waited  somewhere 
until  the  woman  had  gone.  If  she  had  had  the  least 
idea  of  how  much  he  wanted  to  see  her  she  would  have 
contrived  some  way  to  come  back  to  him.  But  no,  she 
went  back  to  Broadstone  to  please  herself,  and  left  him 
to  wander  up  and  down  the  roads  looking  for  her  in 
the  dark. 

When  the  captain  met  old  Jane  at  the  door  of  the 
tollhouse  her  salutation  did  not  smooth  his  ruffled 
spirits,  for  she  told  him  that  she  and  Mr.  Lancaster 
had  sat  up  until  nearly  the  middle  of  the  night  waiting 
for  him,  and  that  the  poor  young  man  must  have  felt 
it,  for  he  had  not  eaten  half  a  breakfast. 

The  captain  paid  but  little  attention  to  these  re 
marks  and  passed  in,  but  before  he  crossed  the  garden 
he  met  Dick,  who  informed  him  that  he  had  something 
very  important  to  communicate.  Important  communi 
cations  that  must  be  delivered  without  a  moment 's  loss 
of  time  are  generally  unpleasant,  and  knowing  this,  the 
captain  knit  his  brows  a  little,  but  told  Dick  he  would 

150 


DICK    A    SLOW    BEARER    OF    NEWS 

be  ready  for  him  as  soon  as  he  lighted  his  pipe.  He 
felt  he  must  have  something  to  soothe  his  ruffled  spirits 
while  he  listened  to  the  tale  of  the  woes  of  some  one  else. 

But  at  the  moment  he  scratched  his  match  to  light 
his  pipe  his  soul  was  illuminated  by  a  flash  of  joy; 
perhaps  Dick  was  going  to  tell  him  he  was  engaged  to 
Olive;  perhaps  that  was  what  she  had  come  to  tell 
him  the  day  before.  He  had  not  expected  to  hear 
anything  of  this  kind,  at  least  not  so  soon,  but  it  had 
been  the  wish  of  his  heart — he  now  knew  that  with 
out  appreciating  the  fact — it  had  been  the  earnest 
wish  of  his  heart  for  some  time,  and  he  stepped 
toward  the  little  arbor  with  the  alacrity  of  happy 
anticipation. 

As  soon  as  they  were  seated  Dick  began  to  speak  of 
Olive,  but  not  in  the  way  the  captain  had  hoped  for. 
He  mentioned  the  great  trouble  into  which  she  had 
been  plunged,  and  gave  the  captain  his  brother's  let 
ter  to  read.  When  he  had  finished  it  the  captain's 
face  darkened,  and  his  frown  was  heavy. 

"  An  outrageous  piece  of  business,"  he  said,  "  to 
treat  a  daughter  in  this  way ;  to  put  a  schoolmate  over 
her  head  in  the  family !  It  is  shameful !  And  this  is 
what  she  was  coming  to  tell  me  ?  ' : 

' '  Yes, ' '  said  Dick, ' '  that  is  it. ' ' 

Now  there  was  another  flash  of  joy  in  the  captain's 
heart,  which  cleared  up  his  countenance  and  made  his 
frown  disappear.  "  She  was  coming  to  me,"  he 
thought.  "  I  was  the  one  to  whom  she  turned  in  her 
trouble."  And  it  seemed  to  this  good  captain  as  if 
he  had  suddenly  become  the  father  of  a  grown-up 
daughter. 

151 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  But    what    message    did    she    send    me?  "    he 
asked  quickly.     "  Did  she  say  when  she  was  coming 


Dick  hesitated ;  Olive  had  said  that  she  wanted  her 
uncle  to  say  when  he  wanted  to  see  her,  so  that  there 
should  be  no  more  surprising,  but  this  request  had  been 
conditional.  Dick  knew  that  she  did  not  want  to  come 
if  her  uncle  were  going  to  marry  Miss  Port ;  therefore 
it  was  that  he  hesitated. 

"  Before  we  go  any  further,"  he  said,  "  I  think 
I  would  better  mention  a  little  thing  which  will  make 
you  laugh,  but  still  it  did  worry  Miss  Asher,  and  was 
one  reason  why  she  went  back  to  Broadstone  without 
stopping." 

"  What  is  it?  "  asked  the  captain,  putting  down 
his  pipe. 

Dick  did  not  come  out  plainly  and  frankly,  as  he 
had  told  Olive  he  would  do  when  he  mentioned  the 
Maria  Port  matter.  In  his  own  heart  he  could  not 
help  believing  now  that  Olive's  suspicions  had  had 
good  foundations,  and  old  Jane 's  announcements,  com 
bined  with  the  captain's  own  actions  in  regard  to  the 
Port  family,  had  almost  convinced  him  that  this  mis 
erable  engagement  was  a  fact.  But,  of  course,  he 
would  not  in  any  way  intimate  to  the  captain  that  he 
believed  in  such  nonsense,  and  therefore,  in  an  off 
hand  manner,  he  mentioned  Olive's  absurd  anxiety  in 
regard  to  Miss  Port. 

When  the  captain  heard  Dick's  statement  he  an 
swered  it  in  the  most  frank  and  plain  manner;  he 
brought  his  big  hand  down  on  his  knee  and  swore  as  if 
one  of  his  crew  had  boldly  contradicted  him.  He  did 

152 


DICK    A    SLOW    BEARER    OF    NEWS 

not  swear  at  anybody  in  particular;  there  was  the 
roar  and  the  crash  of  the  thunder  and  the  flash  of 
the  lightning,  but  no  direct  stroke  descended  upon 
any  one.  He  was  angry  that  such  a  repulsive  and 
offensive  thing  as  his  marriage  to  Maria  Port  should 
be  mentioned,  or  even  thought  of,  but  he  was  enraged 
when  he  heard  that  his  niece  had  believed  him  capable 
of  such  disgusting  insanity.  With  a  jerk  he  rose  to 
his  feet. 

"  I  will  not  talk  about  such  a  thing  as  this,"  he 
said.  "  If  I  did  I  am  sure  I  should  say  something 
hard  about  my  niece,  and  I  don't  want  to  do  that." 
With  this  he  strode  away,  and  proceeded  to  look  after 
the  concerns  of  his  little  farm. 

Old  Jane  came  cautiously  to  Dick.  "  Did  he  tell 
you  when  it  was  going  to  be,  or  anything  about  it  ?  ' ' 
she  asked. 

' '  No, ' '  said  Dick, ' '  he  would  not  even  speak  of  it. ' ' 

"  I  suppose  he  expects  us  to  mind  our  own  busi 
ness,"  said  she,  "  and  of  course  we'll  have  to  do  it, 
but  I  can  tell  him  one  thing — I'm  goin'  to  make  it  my 
business  to  leave  this  place  the  day  before  that  woman 
comes  here. ' ' 

Dejected  and  thoughtful,  Dick  sat  in  the  arbor. 
Here  was  a  state  of  affairs  very  different  from  what 
he  had  anticipated.  He  had  not  been  able  to  hurry  to 
her  the  evening  before ;  he  had  not  gone  to  breakfast 
as  she  had  invited  him ;  he  had  not  started  off  early  in 
the  forenoon ;  and  now  he  asked  himself  when  should 
he  go,  or,  indeed,  why  should  he  go  at  all?  She  had 
no  anxieties  he  could  relieve.  Anything  he  could  tell 
her  would  only  heap  more  unhappiness  upon  her,  and 

153 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

the  longer  he  could  keep  his  news  from  her  the  better 
it  would  be  for  her. 

Olive  had  not  joined  the  Broadstone  party  at  din 
ner  the  night  before.  She  had  been  too  tired,  and  had 
gone  directly  to  her  room,  where,  after  a  time,  Mrs. 
Easterfield  joined  her;  and  the  two  talked  late.  One 
who  had  overheard  their  conversation  might  \vell  have 
supposed  that  the  elder  lady  was  as  much  interested 
in  Lieutenant  Asher's  approaching  nuptials  as  was 
the  younger  one.  When  she  w7as  leaving  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  said : 

'  You  have  enough  on  your  mind  to  give  it  all  the 
trouble  it  ought  to  bear,  and  so  I  beg  of  you  not  to 
think  for  a  moment  of  that  absurd  idea  about  your 
uncle's  engagement.  I  never  saw  the  woman,  but  I 
have  heard  of  her;  she  is  a  professional  scandal-mon 
ger  ;  and  Captain  Asher  would  not  think  for  a  moment 
of  marrying  her.  When  Mr.  Lancaster  comes  to-mor 
row  you  will  hear  that  she  was  merely  consulting  him 
on  business,  and  that  you  are  to  go  to  the  toll-gate  to 
morrow  as  soon  as  you  can.  But  remember,  this  time 
I  am  going  to  send  you  in  the  carriage.  No  more 
bicycles. ' ' 

In  spite  of  this  well-intentioned  admonition,  Olive 
did  not  sleep  well,  and  dreamed  all  night  of  Miss  Port 
in  the  shape  of  a  great  cat  covered  with  feathers  like 
a  chicken,  and  trying  to  get  a  chance  to  jump  at  her. 
Very  early  she  awoke,  and  looking  at  her  clock,  she 
began  to  calculate  the  hours  which  must  pass  before 
Mr.  Lancaster  could  arrive.  It  was  rather  strange 
that  of  the  two  troubles  which  came  to  her  as  soon  as 
she  opened  her  eyes,  the  suspected  engagement  of  her 

154 


DICK    A    SLOW    BEARER    OF    NEWS 

uncle  pushed  itself  in  front  of  the  actual  engagement 
of  her  father ;  the  one  was  something  she  knew  she 
would  have  to  make  up  her  mind  to  bear ;  the  other  was 
something  she  feared  she  would  have  to  make  up  her 
niind  to  bear. 


155 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

What  Olive  determined  to  do 

OLIVE  was  very  much  disappointed  at  breakfast 
time,  and  as  soon  as  she  had  finished  that  meal  she  sta 
tioned  herself  at  a  point  on  the  grounds  which  com 
manded  the  entrance.  People  came  and  talked  to  her, 
but  she  did  not  encourage  conversation,  and  about 
eleven  o'clock  she  went  to  Mrs.  Easterfield  in  her 
room. 

*  *  He  is  not  coming, ' '  she  said.     ' '  He  is  afraid. ' ' 

"  What  is  he  afraid  of?  "  asked  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

' '  He  is  afraid  to  tell  me  that  the  optimistic  specu 
lations  with  which  he  tried  to  soothe  my  mind  arose 
entirely  from  his  own  imagination.  The  whole  thing 
is  exactly  what  I  expected,  and  he  hasn't  the  courage 
to  come  and  say  so.  Now,  really,  don 't  you  think  this 
is  the  state  of  the  case,  and  that  if  he  had  anything  but 
the  worst  news  to  bring  me  he  would  have  been  here 
long  ago  ?  ' ! 

Mrs.  Easterfield  looked  very  serious.  "  I  would 
not  give  up,"  she  said,  "  until  I  saw  Mr.  Lancaster 
and  heard  what  he  has  to  say. ' ' 

"  That  would  not  suit  me,"  said  Olive.  "  I  have 
waited  and  waited  just  as  long  as  I  can.  It  is  as  likely 
as  not  that  he  has  concluded  that  he  can  not  do  any- 

156 


OLIVE'S    DETERMINATION 

thing  here  which  will  be  of  service  to  any  one,  and  has 
started  off  to  finish  his  vacation  at  some  place  where 
people  won't  bother  him  with  their  own  affairs.  He 
told  me  when  I  first  met  him  that  he  was  on  his  way 
North.  And  now,  would  you  like  me  to  tell  you  what 
I  have  determined  to  do  ?  ' : 

"  I  would,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  but  her  ex 
pression  did  not  indicate  that  she  expected  Olive 's  an 
nouncement  to  give  her  any  pleasure. 

' '  I  have  been  considering  it  all  the  morning, ' '  said 
Olive,  "  and  I  have  determined  to  marry  without  de 
lay.  The  greatest  object  of  my  life  at  present  is  to 
write  to  my  father  that  I  am  married.  I  don't  wish 
to  tell  him  anything  until  I  can  tell  him  that.  I  would 
also  be  glad  to  be  able  to  send  the  same  message  to  the 
toll-gate  house,  but  I  don 't  suppose  it  will  make  much 
difference  there." 

"  Do  you  think,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  that  my 
inviting  you  here  made  all  this  trouble  ?  ' : 

"  No,"  said  Olive.  "  It  was  not  the  immediate 
cause,  but  uncle  knows  I  do  not  like  that  woman, 
and  she  doesn't  like  me,  and  it  would  not  have 
suited  him  to  have  me  stay  very  much  longer  with 
him.  I  thought  at  first  he  was  glad  to  have  me 
go  on  account  of  Mr.  Lancaster,  but  now  I  do  not 
believe  that  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  He  did 
not  want  me  with  him,  and  what  that  woman  came 
here  and  told  me  about  his  not  expecting  me  back 
again  was,  I  now  believe,  a  roundabout  message  from 
him." 

"  Now,  Olive,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  it  would  be 
a  great  deal  better  for  you  to  stop  all  this  imagining 

157 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

until  you  hear  from  Mr.  Lancaster,  if  you  don't  see 
him.  Perhaps  the  poor  young  man  has  sprained  his 
ankle,  or  was  prevented  in  some  ordinary  way  from 
coming.  But  what  is  this  nonsense  about  getting  mar 
ried?  " 

"  There  is  no  nonsense  about  it,"  said  Olive.  "  I 
am  going  to  marry,  but  I  have  not  chosen  any  one 
yet." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  uttered  an  exclamation  of  horror. 
"  Choose!  "  she  exclaimed.  "  What  have  you  to  do 
with  choosing?  I  don't  think  you  are  much  like  other 
girls,  but  I  did  think  you  had  enough  womanly  quali 
ties  to  make  you  wait  until  you  are  chosen." 

"  I  intend  to  wait  until  I  am  chosen,"  said  Olive, 
*  *  but  I  shall  choose  the  person  who  is  to  choose  me.  I 
have  always  thought  it  absurd  for  a  young  woman  to 
sit  and  wait  and  wait  until  some  one  comes  and  sees 
fit  to  propose  to  her.  Even  under  ordinary  circum 
stances,  I  think  the  young  woman  has  not  a  fair  chance 
to  get  what  she  wants.  But  my  case  is  extraordinary, 
and  I  can 't  afford  to  wait ;  and  as  I  don 't  want  to  go 
out  into  the  world  to  look  for  a  husband,  I  am  going  to 
take  one  of  these  young  men  here. ' ' 

"  Olive,"  cried  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  you  don't  mean 
you  are  going  to  marry  Mr.  Locker?  ': 

"  You  forget,"  said  Olive,  "  that  I  told  you  I  have 
not  made  up  my  mind  yet.  But  although  I  have  not 
come  to  a  decision,  I  have  a  leaning  toward  one  of 
them.  The  more  I  think  of  it  the  more  I  incline  in  the 
direction  of  my  old  love." 

"Mr.  Hemphill!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easterfield. 
"  Olive,  you  are  crazy,  or  else  you  are  joking  in  a  very 

158 


OLIVE'S    DETERMINATION 

disagreeable  manner.  There  could  be  no  one  more 
unfit  for  you  than  he  is. ' ' 

' '  I  am  not  crazy,  and  I  am  not  joking:, ' '  replied  the 
girl,  "  and  I  think  Rupert  would  suit  me  very  well. 
You  see,  I  think  a  great  deal  more  of  Rupert  than  I 
do  of  Mr.  HemphilJ,  although  the  latter  gentleman  has 
excellent  points.  lie  is  commonplace,  and,  above 
everything  else,  I  want  a  commonplace  husband.  I 
want  some  one  to  soothe  me,  and  quiet  me,  and  to  give 
me  ballast.  If  there  is  anything  out  of  the  way  to  be 
done  I  want  to  do  it  myself.  I  am  sure  he  is  in  love 
with  me,  for  his  anxious  efforts  to  make  me  believe  that 
the  frank  avowal  of  my  early  affection  had  no  effect 
upon  him  proves  that  he  was  very  much  affected.  I 
believe  that  he  is  truly  in  love  with  me. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield's  sharp  eyes  had  seen  this,  and  she 
had  nothing  to  say. 

"  I  believe,"  continued  Olive,  "that  a  retrospect 
love  will  be  a  better  foundation  for  conjugal  happi 
ness  than  any  other  sort  of  affection.  One  can  always 
look  back  to  it  no  matter  what  happens,  and  be  happy 
in  the  memory  of  it.  It  would  be  something  distinct 
which  could  never  be  interfered  with.  You  can't 
imagine  what  an  earnest  and  absorbing  love  I  once 
had  for  that  man !  ' : 

Mrs.  Easterfield  sprang  to  her  feet.  "  Olive 
Asher,"  she  cried,  "  I  can't  listen  to  you  if  you  talk  in 
this  way !  ' ! 

' '  Well,  then, ' '  said  Olive, ' '  if  you  object  so  much  to 
Rupert — you  must  not  forget  that  it  would  be  Rupert 
that  I  would  really  marry  if  I  became  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Hemphill — do  you  advise  me  to  take  Mr.  Locker  ?  And 

159 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

I  will  tell  you  this,  he  is  not  to  be  rudely  set  aside ;  he 
has  warm-hearted  points  which  I  did  not  suspect  at 
first.  I  will  tell  you  what  he  just  said  to  me.  As  I 
was  coming  up-stairs  he  hurried  toward  me,  and  his 
face  showed  that  he  was  very  anxious  to  speak  to  me. 
So  before  he  could  utter  a  word,  I  told  him  that  he  was 
too  early;  that  his  hour  had  not  yet  arrived.  Then 
that  good  fellow  said  to  me  that  he  had  seen  I  was  in 
trouble,  and  that  he  had  been  informed  it  had  been 
caused  by  bad  news  from  my  family.  He  had  made 
no  inquiries  because  he  did  not  wish  to  intrude  upon 
my  private  affairs,  and  all  he  wished  to  say  now  was 
that  while  my  mind  was  disturbed  and  worried  he  did 
not  intend  to  present  his  own  affairs  to  my  attention, 
even  though  I  had  fixed  regular  times  for  his  doing  so. 
But  although  he  wished  me  to  understand  that  I  need 
not  fear  his  making  love  to  me  just  at  this  time,  he 
wanted  me  to  remember  that  his  love  was  still  burning 
as  brightly  as  ever,  and  W7ould  be  again  offered  me 
just  as  soon  as  he  would  be  warranted  in  doing  so." 

'  *  And  what  did  you  say  to  that  ?  ' '  asked  Mrs.  Eas- 
terfield. 

"  I  felt  like  patting  him  on  the  head,"  Olive  an 
swered,  "  but  instead  of  doing  that  I  shook  his  hand 
just  as  wrarmly  as  I  could,  and  told  him  I  should  not 
forget  his  consideration  and  good  feeling." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  sighed.  "  You  have  joined  him 
fast  to  your  car,"  she  said,  "  and  yet,  even  if  there 
were  no  one  else,  he  would  be  impossible. ' ' 

*  *  Why  so  1  "  asked  Olive  quickly.  *  *  I  have  always 
liked  him,  and  now  I  like  him  ever  so  much  better.  To 
be  sure  he  is  queer ;  but  then  he  is  so  much  queerer  than 

160 


OLIVE'S    DETERMINATION 

I  am  that  perhaps  in  comparison  I  might  take  up 
the  part  of  commonplace  partner.  Besides,  he  has 
money  enough  to  live  on.  He  told  me  that  when  he 
iirst  addressed  me.  He  said  he  would  never  ask  any 
woman  to  live  on  pickled  verse  feet,  and  he  has  also 
told  me  something  of  his  family,  which  must  be  a  good 
one." 

"  Olive,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  I  don't  believe 
at  all  in  the  necessity  or  the  sense  in  your  precipitating 
plans  of  marrying.  It  is  all  airy  talk,  anyway.  You 
can 't  ask  a  man  to  step  up  and  marry  you  in  order  that 
you  may  sit  down  and  write  a  letter  to  your  father. 
But  if  you  are  thinking  of  marrying,  or  rather  of  pre 
paring  to  marry  at  some  suitable  time,  why,  in  the 
name  of  everything  that  is  reasonable,  don  ?t  you  take 
Mr.  Lancaster?  He  is  as  far  above  the  other  young 
men  you  have  met  here  as  the  mountains  are  above 
the  plains ;  he  belongs  to  another  class  altogether.  He 
is  a  thoroughly  fine  young  man,  and  has  a  most  honor 
able  profession  with  good  prospects,  and  I  know  he 
loves  you.  You  need  not  ask  me  how  I  know  it — it  is 
always  easy  for  a  woman  to  find  out  things  like  that. 
Now,  here  is  a  prospective  husband  for  you  whose 
cause  I  should  advocate.  In  fact,  I  should  be  de 
lighted  to  see  you  married  to  him.  He  possesses  every 
quality  which  would  make  you  a  good  husband." 

Olive  smiled.  "  You  seem  to  know  a  great  deal 
about  him,"  said  she,  "  and  I  assure  you  that  so  far 
as  he  himself  is  concerned,  I  have  no  objections  to  him, 
except  that  I  think  he  might  have  had  the  courage  to 
come  and  tell  me  the  truth  this  morning,  whatever 
it  is." 

161 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  Perhaps  he  has  not  found  out  the  truth  yet," 
quickly  suggested  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

Olive  fixed  her  eyes  upon  her  companion  and  for  a 
few  moments  reflected,  but  presently  she  shook  her 
head. 

* '  No,  that  can  not  be, ' '  she  answered.  ' '  He  would 
have  let  me  know  he  had  been  obliged  to  wait.  Oh,  no, 
it  is  all  settled,  and  we  can  drop  that  subject.  But  as 
for  Mr.  Lancaster,  his  connections  would  make  any 
thought  of  him  impossible.  He,  and  his  father,  too, 
are  both  close  friends  of  my  uncle,  and  he  would  be  a 
constant  communication  between  me  and  that  woman 
unless  there  should  be  a  quarrel,  which  I  don't  wish 
to  cause.  No,  I  want  to  leave  everything  of  that  sort 
as  far  behind  me  as  it  used  to  be  in  front  of  me,  and  as 
Professor  Lancaster  is  mixed  up  with  it  I  could  not 
think  of  having  anything  to  do  with  him. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  was  silent.  She  was  trying  to 
make  up  her  mind  whether  this  girl  were  talking  sense 
or  nonsense.  What  she  said  seemed  to  be  extremely 
nonsensical,  but  as  she  said  it,  it  was  difficult  to  be 
lieve  that  she  did  not  consider  it  to  be  entirely  rational. 

"  Well,"  said  Olive,  "  you  have  objected  to  two  of 
my  candidates,  and  I  positively  decline  the  one  you 
offer,  so  we  have  left  only  the  diplomat.  He  has  pro 
posed,  and  he  has  not  yet  received  a  definite  answer. 
You  have  told  me  yourself  that  he  belongs  to  an  aris 
tocratic  family  in  Austria,  and  I  am  sure  that  would  be 
a  grand  match.  We  have  talked  together  a  great  deal, 
and  he  seems  to  like  the  things  I  like.  I  should  see 
plenty  of  court  life  and  high  society,  for  he  will  soon 
be  transferred  from  this  legation,  and  if  I  take  him  I 

162 


OLIVE'S    DETERMINATION 

shall  go  to  some  foreign  capital.  He  is  very  sharp  and 
ambitious,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  some  day  he  will 
be  looked  upon  as  a  distinguished  foreigner.  Now,  as 
it  is  the  ambition  of  many  American  girls  to  marry  dis 
tinguished  foreigners,  this  alliance  is  certainly  worthy 
of  due  consideration. " 

"  Stuff!  "  said  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

Olive  was  not  annoyed,  and  replied  very  quietly: 
"  It  is  not  stuff.  You  must  know  young  women  who 
have  married  foreigners  and  who  did  not  do  anything 
like  so  well  as  if  they  had  married  rising  diplomats. ' ' 

Mrs.  Blynn  now  knocked  at  the  door  on  urgent 
household  business. 

"  I  shall  want  to  see  you  again  about  all  this, 
Olive,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield  as  they  parted. 

"  Of  course,"  replied  the  girl,  "  whenever  you 
want  to. ' ' 

"  Mrs.  Blynn,"  said  the  lady  of  the  house,  "  be 
fore  you  mention  what  you  have  come  to  talk  about, 
please  tell  one  of  the  men  to  put  a  horse  to  a  buggy  and 
come  to  the  house.  I  want  to  send  a  message  by  him. ' ' 

The  letter  which  was  speedily  on  its  way  to  Mr. 
Kichard  Lancaster  was  a  very  brief  one.  It  simply 
asked  the  young  gentleman  to  come  to  Broadstone, 
with  bad  news  or  good  news,  or  without  any  news  at 
all.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the  writer  should 
see  him,  and  in  order  that  there  might  be  no  delay  she 
sent  a  conveyance  for  him.  Moreover,  she  added,  it 
would  give  her  great  pleasure  if  Mr.  Lancaster  would 
come  prepared  to  spend  a  couple  of  days  at  her  house. 
She  felt  sure  good  Captain  Asher  would  spare  him  for 
that  short  time.  She  believed  that  at  this  moment 
13  163 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

more  gentlemen  were  needed  at  Broadstone,  and,  al 
though  she  did  not  go  on  to  say  that  she  thought  Dick 
was  not  having  a  fair  chance  at  this  very  important 
crisis,  that  is  what  she  expected  the  young  man  to 
understand. 

Just  before  luncheon,  at  the  time  when  Claude 
Locker  might  have  been  urging  his  suit  had  he  been 
less  kind-hearted  and  generous,  Olive  found  an  oppor 
tunity  to  say  a  few  words  to  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

' '  A  capital  idea  has  come  into  my  head, ' '  she  said. 
"  What  do  you  think  of  holding  a  competitive  exam 
ination  among  these  young  men  ?  ' : 

' '  More  stuff,  and  more  nonsense  !  ' '  ejaculated  Mrs. 
Easterfield.  "  I  never  knew  any  one  to  trifle  with 
serious  subjects  as  you  are  trifling  with  your  future. ' ' 

"  I  am  not  trifling,"  said  Olive.  "  Of  course,  I 
don't  mean  that  I  should  hold  an  examination,  but 
that  you  should.  You  know  that  parents — foreign 
parents,  I  mean — make  all  sorts  of  examinations  of  the 
qualifications  and  merits  of  candidates  for  the  hands  of 
their  daughters,  and  I  should  be  very  grateful  if  you 
would  be  at  least  that  much  of  a  mother  to  me. ' ' 

' '  No  examination  would  be  needed, ' '  said  the  other 
quickly;  "  I  should  decide  upon  Mr.  Lancaster  with 
out  the  necessity  of  any  questions  or  deliberations." 

( i  But  he  is  not  a  candidate, ' '  said  Olive ;  "  he  has 
been  ruled  out.  However,"  she  added  with  a  little 
laugh,  ' '  nothing  can  be  done  just  now,  for  they  have 
not  all  entered  themselves  in  the  competition;  Mr. 
Hemphill  has  not  proposed  yet. ' ' 

At  that  instant  the  rest  of  the  family  joined  them 
on  their  way  to  luncheon. 
1  164 


OLIVE'S    DETERMINATION 

The  meal  was  scarcely  over  when  Olive  disappeared 
up-stairs,  but  soon  came  down  attired  in  a  blue  sailor 
suit,  which  she  had  not  before  worn  at  Broadstone,  and 
although  the  ladies  of  that  house  had  been  astonished 
at  the  number  of  costumes  this  navy  girl  carried  in 
her  unostentatious  baggage,  this  was  a  new  surprise 
to  them. 

"  Mr.  Hemphill  and  I  are  going  boating,"  said 
Olive  to  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

* '  Olive !  ' '  exclaimed  the  other. 

"  What  is  there  astonishing  about  it?  "  asked  the 
girl.  '  *  I  have  been  out  boating  with  Mr.  Locker,  and 
it  did  not  amaze  you.  You  need  not  be  afraid;  Mr. 
Hemphill  says  he  has  had  a  good  deal  of  practise  in 
rowing,  and  if  he  does  not  understand  the  management 
of  a  boat  I  am  sure  I  do.  It  is  only  for  an  hour,  and 
we  shall  be  ready  for  anything  that  the  rest  of  you  are 
going  to  do  this  afternoon. ' ' 

With  this,  away  she  went,  skipping  over  the  rocks 
and  grass,  down  to  the  river's  edge,  followed  by  Mr. 
Hemphill,  who  could  scarcely  believe  he  was  in  a 
world  of  common  people  and  common  things,  while 
he,  in  turn,  was  followed  by  the  mental  anathemas  of 
a  poet  and  a  diplomat. 


165 


CHAPTER    XIX 

The  Captain  and  Dick  Lancaster  desert  the 
Toil-Gate 

WHEX  Captain  Ashcr,  in  an  angry  mood,  left  his 
young  friend  and  guest  and  went  out  into  his  barn 
yard  and  his  fields  in  order  to  quiet  his  soul  by  the 
consideration  of  agricultural  subjects,  he  met  with  but 
little  success.  He  looked  at  his  pigs,  but  he  did  not 
notice  their  plump  condition;  he  glanced  at  his  two 
cows,  cropping  the  grass  in  the  little  meadow,  but  it 
did  not  impress  him  that  they  also  were  in  fine  condi 
tion  ;  nor  did  he  care  whether  the  pasture  were  good  or 
not.  He  looked  at  this;  and  he  looked  at  that;  and 
then  he  folded  his  arms  and  looked  at  the  distant 
mountains.  Suddenly  he  turned  on  his  heel,  walked 
straight  to  the  stable,  harnessed  his  mare  to  the  buggy, 
and,  without  saying  a  word  to  anybody,  drove  out  of 
the  gate,  and  on  to  Glenf  ord. 

Dick  Lancaster,  who  was  in  the  arbor,  looked  in 
amazement  after  the  captain's  departing  buggy,  and 
old  Jane,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  came  out  and  spoke  to 
him. 

"  Isn't  this  dreadful?  "  she  said  to  him.  "  Sup 
per  with  that  woman  and  there  all  night,  and  back 
again  as  soon  as  he  can  get  off  this  mornin ' !  " 

166 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    DICK    DESERT 

* '  Perhaps  he  is  not  going  to  her  house, ' '  Dick  sug 
gested.  * '  He  may  have  business  in  town  which  he  for 
got  yesterday." 

"  If  he'd  had  it  he'd  forgot  it,"  replied  the  old 
woman.  "  But  he  hadn't  none.  He's  gone  to  Maria 
Port's,  and  he  may  bring  her  back  with  him,  married 
tight  and  fast,  for  all  you  or  me  knows.  It  would  be 
just  like  his  sailor  fashion.  When  the  captain's  got 
anything  to  do  he  just  does  it  sharp  and  quick. ' ' 

"  I  don't  believe  that,"  said  Dick.  "  If  he  had 
had  any  such  intention  as  that  he  certainly  would  have 
mentioned  it  to  you  or  to  me. ' ' 

The  good  woman  shook  her  head.  * '  When  an  old 
man  marries  a  girl,"  she  said,  "  she  just  leads  him 
wherever  she  wants  him  to  go,  and  he  gives  up  every 
thing  to  her,  and  when  an  old  man  marries  a  tough 
and  seasoned  and  smoked  old  maid  like  Maria  Port, 
she  just  drives  him  wherever  she  wants  him  to  go,  and 
he  hasn't  nothin'  to  say  about  it.  It  looks  as  if  she 
told  him  to  come  in  this  mornin',  and  he's  gone.  It 
may  be  for  a  weddin ',  or  it  may  be  for  somethin '  else, 
but  whatever  it  is,  it  '11  be  her  way  and  not  his  straight 
on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter. ' ' 

Dick  had  nothing  to  answer.  He  was  very  much 
afraid  that  old  Jane  knew  what  she  was  talking  about, 
and  his  mind  was  occupied  with  trying  to  decide  what 
he,  individually,  ought  to  do  about  it.  Old  Jane  was 
now  obliged  to  go  to  the  toll-gate  to  attend  to  a  trav 
eler,  but  when  she  came  back  she  took  occasion  to  say 
a  few  more  words. 

"  It's  hard  on  me,  sir,"  she  said,  "  at  my  age  to 
make  a  change.  I  've  lived  at  this  house,  and  I  've  took 

167 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

toll  at  that  gate  ever  since  I  was  a  girl,  long  before  the 
captain  came  here,  and  I've  been  with  him  a  long  time. 
My  people  used  to  own  this  house,  but  they  all  died, 
and  when  the  place  was  sold  and  the  captain  bought 
it,  he  heard  about  me,  and  he  said  I  should  always  have 
charge  of  the  old  toll-gate  when  he  wasn't  attendin' 
to  it  himself,  just  the  same  as  when  my  father  was  alive 
and  was  toll-gate  keeper,  and  I  was  helpin'  him.  But 
I've  got  to  go  now,  and  where  I'm  goin'  to  is  more'n 
I  know.  But  I'd  rather  go  to  the  county  poorhouse 
than  stay  here,  or  anywhere  else,  with  Maria  Port. 
She's  a  regular  boa-constrictor,  that  woman  is !  She's 
twisted  herself  around  people  before  this  and  squeezed 
the  senses  out  of  them ;  and  that 's  exactly  what  she 's 
doin'  with  the  captain.  If  she  could  come  here  to  live 
and  bring  her  old  father,  and  get  him  to  sell  the  house 
in  town  and  put  the  money  in  bank,  and  then  if  she 
could  worry  her  husband  and  her  father  both  to  death, 
and  work  things  so  she'd  be  a  widow  with  plenty  of 
money  and  a  good  house  and  as  much  farm  land  as  she 
wanted,  and  a  toll-gate  where  she  could  set  all  day  and 
take  toll  and  give  back  lies  and  false  witness  as  change, 
she'd  be  the  happiest  woman  on  earth." 

It  had  been  long  since  old  Jane  had  said  as  much 
at  any  one  time  to  any  one  person,  but  her  mind  was 
stirred.  Her  life  was  about  to  change,  and  the  future 
was  very  black  to  her. 

When  dinner  was  ready  the  captain  had  not  yet 
returned,  and  Dick  ate  his  meal  by  himself.  He  was 
now  beginning  to  feel  used  to  this  sort  of  thing.  He 
had  scarcely  finished,  and  gone  down  to  the  garden- 
gate  to  look  once  more  over  the  road  toward  Glenford, 

168 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    DICK    DESERT 

when  the  man  in  the  buggy  arrived,  and  he  received 
Mrs.  Easterfield's  letter. 

He  lost  no  moments  in  making  up  his  mind.  He 
would  go  to  Broadstone,  of  course,  and  he  did  not  think 
it  at  all  necessary  to  stand  on  ceremony  with  the 
captain.  The  latter  had  gone  off  and  left  him  with 
out  making  any  statement  whatever,  but  he  would 
do  better,  and  he  wrote  a  note  explaining  the  state 
of  affairs.  As  he  was  leaving  old  Jane  came  to  bid 
him  good-by. 

' '  I  don 't  know, ' '  said  she,  * '  that  you  will  find  me 
here  when  you  come  back.  The  fact  of  it  is  I  don't 
know  nothin'.  But  one  thing's  certain,  if  she's  here  I 
ain't,  and  if  she's  too  high  and  mighty  to  take  toll  in 
her  honeymoon,  the  cap  tain '11  have  to  do  it  himself, 
or  let  'em  pass  through  free." 

Mrs.  Eastern" eld  was  on  the  lawn  when  Lancaster 
arrived,  and  in  answer  to  the  involuntary  glance  with 
which  Dick's  eyes  swept  the  surrounding  space,  even 
while  he  was  shaking  hands  with  her,  she  said :  ' '  No, 
she  is  not  here.  She  has  gone  boating,  and  so  you  must 
come  and  tell  me  everything,  and  then  we  can  decide 
what  is  best  to  tell  her." 

For  an  instant  Dick's  soul  demurred.  If  he  told 
Olive  anything  he  would  tell  her  all  he  knew,  and 
exactly  what  had  happened.  But  he  would  not  lose 
faith  in  this  noble  woman  who  was  going  to  help  him 
with  Olive  if  she  could.  So  they  sat  down,  side  by 
side,  and  he  told  her  everything  he  knew  about  Cap 
tain  Asher  and  Miss  Port. 

"  It  does  look  very  much  as  if  he  were  going  to 
marry  the  woman,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  Then  she 

169 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

sat  silent  and  looked  upon  the  ground,  a  frown  upon 
her  face. 

Dick  was  also  silent,  and  his  countenance  was 
clouded.  "  Poor  Olive,"  he  thought,  "  it  is  hard  that 
this  new  trouble  should  come  upon  her  just  at  this 
time." 

But  Mrs.  Easterfield  said  in  her  heart:  "  Poor  fel 
low,  how  little  you  know  what  has  come  upon  you! 
The  woman  who  has  turned  her  uncle  from  Olive  has 
turned  Olive  from  you." 

"  AVell,"  said  the  lady  at  length,  "  do  you  think 
it  is  worth  while  to  say  anything  to  her  about  it  ?  She 
has  already  surmised  the  state  of  affairs,  and,  so  far 
as  I  can  see,  you  have  nothing  of  importance  to  tell 
her." 

*  *  Perhaps  not, ' '  said  Dick,  * '  but  as  she  sent  me  on 
a  mission  I  want  to  make  known  to  her  the  result  of  it 
so  far  as  there  has  been  any  result.  It  will  be  very 
unpleasant,  of  course — it  will  be  even  painful — but  I 
wish  to  do  it  all  the  same. ' ' 

il  That  is  to  say,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield  with  a 
smile  that  was  not  very  cheerful, '  *  you  want  to  be  with 
her,  to  look  at  her  and  to  speak  to  her,  no  matter  how 
much  it  may  pain  her  or  you  to  do  it. ' ' 

"  That's  it,"  answered  Dick. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  sat  and  reflected.  She  very  much 
liked  this  young  man,  and,  considering  herself  as 
his  friend,  were  there  not  some  things  she  ought 
to  tell  him1?  She  concluded  that  there  were  such 
things. 

' '  Mr.  Lancaster, ' '  she  said, '  *  have  you  noticed  that 
there  are  other  young  men  in  love  with  Miss  Asher  ?  ' ! 

170 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    DICK    DESERT 

' '  I  know  there  is  one, ' '  said  Dick,  ' '  for  he  told  me 
so  himself. ' ' 

"  That  was  Claude  Locker?  "  said  she  with  in 
terest. 

* '  And  he  promised, ' '  continued  Dick,  ' '  that  if  he 
failed  he  would  do  all  he  could  to  help  me.  I  can  not 
say  that  this  is  really  for  love  of  me,  for  his  avowed 
object  is  to  prevent  Mr.  Du  Brant  from  getting  her. 
We  assumed  that  he  was  her  lover,  although  I  do  not 
know  that  there  is  any  real  ground  for  it. ' ' 

*  *  There  is  very  good  ground  for  it, ' '  said  she, '  *  for 
he  has  already  proposed  to  her.  What  do  you  think  of 
that?  " 

* '  It  makes  no  difference  to  me, ' '  said  Dick ;  * '  that 
is,  if  he  has  not  been  accepted.  What  I  want  is  to  find 
myself  warranted  in  telling  Miss  Asher  how  I  feel 
toward  her ;  it  does  not  matter  to  me  how  the  rest  of  the 
world  feels. ' ' 

"  Then  there  is  another,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield, 
"  with  whom  she  is  now  on  the  river — Mr.  Hemphill. 
He  is  in  love  with  her ;  and  as  he  can  not  stay  here  very 
long,  I  think  he  will  soon  propose." 

"  I  can  not  help  it,"  said  Dick;  "  I  love  her,  and 
the  great  object  of  my  life  just  at  present  is  to  tell  her 
so.  You  said  you  would  help  me,  and  I  hope  you  will 
not  withdraw  from  that  promise." 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  she,  "  but  I  do  not  know  her 
as  well  as  I  thought  I  did.  But  here  she  comes  now, 
and  without  the  young  man.  I  hope  she  has  not 
drowned  him  !  ' ' 

Without  heeding  anything  that  had  just  been  said 
to  him  Dick  kept  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  sparkling  girl 

171 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

who  now  approached  them.  Every  step  she  made  was 
another  link  in  his  chain ;  Mrs.  Easterfield  glanced  at 
him  and  knew  this.  She  pitied  him  for  what  he  had  to 
tell  her  now,  and  more  for  what  he  might  have  to  hear 
from  her  at  another  time.  But  Olive  saved  Dick  from 
any  present  ordeal.  She  stepped  up  to  him  and  of 
fered  him  her  hand. 

"  I  do  not  wonder,  Mr.  Lancaster,"  she  said, 
"  that  you  did  not  want  to  come  back  and  tell  me 
your  doleful  story,  but  as  I  know  what  it  is,  we 
need  not  say  anything  about  it  now,  except  that  I 
am  ever  so  much  obliged  to  you  for  all  your  kind 
ness  to  me.  And  now  I  am  going  to  ask  another 
favor.  Won't  you  let  me  speak  to  Mrs.  Easterfield 
a  few  moments?  " 

As  soon  as  they  were  seated,  with  the  door  shut, 
Olive  began. 

"  Well,"  said  she,  "  he  has  proposed." 

"  Mr.  Hemphill!  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

"  Rupert,"  Olive  answered,  "  yes,  it  is  truly 
Rupert  who  proposed  to  me. ' ' 

* '  I  declare, ' '  cried  Mrs.  Easterfield,  ' '  you  come 
to  me  and  tell  me  this  as  if  it  were  a  piece  of  glad 
news.  Yesterday,  and  even  this  morning,  you  were 
plunged  in  grief,  and  now  your  eyes  shine  as  if  you 
were  positively  happy. ' ' 

'  I  have  told  you  my  aim  and  object  in  life, ' '  said 
the  girl.  : '  I  am  trying  to  do  something,  and  to  do  it 
soon,  and  everything  is  going  on  smoothly.  And  as 
to  being  happy,  I  tell  you,  Mrs.  Easterfield,  there  is  no 
woman  alive  who  could  help  being  made  happy  by  such 
a  declaration  as  I  have  just  received.  No  matter  what 

172 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    DICK    DESERT 

answer  she  gave  him,  she  would  be  bound  to  be 
happy. ' ' 

"  Most  other  women  would  not  have  let  him  make 
it,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield  a  little  severely. 

"  There  is  something  in  that,"  said  Olive,  "  but 
they  would  not  have  the  object  in  life  I  have.  I  may 
be  unduly  exalted,  but  you  would  not  wonder  at  it  if 
you  had  seen  him  and  heard  him.  Mrs.  Easterfield, 
that  man  loves  me  exactly  as  I  used  to  love  him,  and  he 
has  told  me  his  love  just  as  I  would  have  told  him 
mine  if  I  could  have  carried  out  the  wish  of  my  heart. 
His  eyes  glowed,  his  frame  shook  with  the  ardor  of  his 
passion.  Two  or  three  times  I  had  to  tell  him  that  if 
he  did  not  trim  boat  we  should  be  upset.  I  never  saw 
anything  like  his  impassioned  vehemence.  It  reminded 
me  of  Salvini.  I  never  was  loved  like  that  before. ' ' 

'  *  And  what  answer  did  you  make  to  him  ?  ' '  asked 
Mrs.  Easterfield,  her  voice  trembling. 

' '  I  did  not  make  him  any.  It  would  not  have  been 
fair  to  the  others  or  to  myself  to  do  that.  I  shall  not 
swerve  from  my  purpose,  but  I  shall  not  be  rash. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  rose  suddenly  and  stepped  to  the 
open  window ;  she  could  not  sit  still  a  moment  longer ; 
she  needed  air.  * '  Olive, ' '  she  said,  * '  this  is  mad  and 
wicked  folly  in  you,  and  it  is  impertinent  in  him,  no 
matter  how  much  you  encouraged  him.  I  would  like 
to  send  him  back  to  his  desk  this  minute.  He  has 
no  right  to  come  to  his  employer 's  house  and  behave  in 
this  manner. ' ' 

Olive  did  not  get  angry.  "  He  is  not  impertinent, ' ' 
said  she.  "  He  knows  nothing  in  this  world  but  that 
I  once  loved  him,  and  that  now  he  loves  me.  Employer 

173 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

and  employee  are  nothing  to  him.  I  don't  believe  he 
would  go  if  you  told  him  to,  even  if  you  could  do  such 
a  thing,  which  I  don't  believe  you  would,  for,  of  course, 
you  would  think  of  me  as  well  as  of  him." 

"  Olive  Asher,"  cried  Mrs.  Easterfield  in  a  voice 
which  was  almost  a  wail,  "  do  you  mean  to  say  that 
you  are  to  be  considered  in  this  matter,  that  for  a  mo 
ment  you  think  of  marrying  this  man  ?  ' : 

' '  Yes, ' '  said  Olive ;  "  I  do  think  of  it,  and  the  more 
I  think  of  it  the  better  I  think  of  it.  He  is  a  good 
man ;  you  have  told  me  that  yourself ;  and  I  can  feel 
that  he  is  good.  I  know  he  loves  me.  There  can  be  no 
mistake  about  his  words  and  his  eyes.  I  feel  as  I  never 
felt  toward  any  other  man,  that  I  might  become  at 
tached  to  him.  And  in  my  opinion  a  real  attachment 
is  the  foundation  of  love,  and  you  must  never  forget 
that  I  once  loved  him."  The  girl  now  stepped  close 
to  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  I  am  sorry  to  see  those  tears," 
she  said ; '  *  I  did  not  come  here  to  make  you  unhappy. ' ' 

' '  But  you  have  made  me  very  unhappy, ' '  said  the 
elder  lady,  "  and  I  do  not  think  I  can  talk  any  more 
about  this  now. ' ' 

When  Olive  had  gone  Mrs.  Easterfield  hurried 
down-stairs  in  search  of  Lancaster.  She  did  not  care 
what  any  one  might  think  of  her  unconventional  eager 
ness  ;  she  wanted  to  find  him,  and  she  soon  succeeded. 
He  was  sitting  in  the  shade  with  a  book,  which,  when 
she  approached  him,  she  did  not  believe  he  was  reading. 

' '  Yes, ' '  said  she,  as  he  started  to  his  feet  in  evident 
concern,  "  I  have  been  crying,  and  there  is  no  use  in 
trying  to  conceal  it.  Of  course,  it  is  about  Olive,  but 
I  can  not  confide  in  you  now,  and  I  do  not  know  that 

174 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    DICK    DESERT 

I  have  any  right  to  do  so,  anyway.  But  I  came  here  to 
beg  you  most  earnestly  not  to  propose  to  Miss  Asher, 
no  matter  how  good  an  opportunity  you  may  have,  no 
matter  how  much  you  want  to  do  so,  no  matter  how 
much  hope  may  spring  up  in  your  heart. ' ' 

"  Do  you  mean,"  said  Dick,  "  that  I  must  never 
speak  to  her  ?  Am  I  too  late  ?  Is  she  lost  to  me  ?  ' '' 

' '  Not  at  all, ' '  said  she,  ' '  you  are  not  too  late,  but 
you  may  be  too  early.  She  is  not  lost  to  anybody,  but 
if  you  should  speak  to  her  before  I  tell  you  to  she  will 
certainly  be  lost  to  you. ' ' 


175 


CHAPTER    XX 

Mr.  Locker  determines  to  rush  the  Enemy's 
Position 

THE  party  at  Broadstone  was  not  in  what  might  be 
called  a  congenial  condition.  There  were  among  them 
elements  of  unrest  which  prevented  that  assimilation 
which  is  necessary  to  social  enjoyment.  Even  the  ordi 
narily  placid  Mr.  Fox  was  dissatisfied.  The  trouble 
with  him  was — although  he  did  not  admit  it — that  he 
missed  the  company  of  Miss  Asher.  He  had  found  her 
most  agreeable  and  inspiriting,  but  now  things  had 
changed,  and  he  did  not  seem  to  have  any  opportunity 
for  the  lively  chats  of  a  few  days  before.  He  re 
marked  to  his  wife  that  he  thought  Broadstone  was 
getting  very  dull,  and  he  should  be  rather  glad  when 
the  time  came  for  them  to  leave.  Mrs.  Fox  was  not 
of  his  opinion;  she  enjoyed  the  state  of  affairs  more 
than  she  had  done  when  her  husband  had  been  better 
pleased.  There  was  something  going  on  which  she  did 
not  understand,  and  she  wanted  to  find  out  what  it 
was.  It  concerned  Miss  Asher  and  one  of  the  young 
men,  but  which  one  she  could  not  decide.  In  any  case 
it  troubled  Mrs.  Easterfield,  and  that  was  inter 
esting. 

Claude  Locker  seemed  to  be  a  changed  man ;  he  no 
176 


RUSHING    THE    ENEMY'S     POSITION 

longer  made  jokes  or  performed  absurdities.  He  had 
become  wonderfully  vigilant,  and  seemed  to  be  one 
who  continually  bided  his  time.  He  bided  it  so  much 
that  he  was  of  very  little  use  as  a  member  of  the  social 
circle. 

Mr.  Du  Brant  was  also  biding  his  time,  but  he  did 
not  make  the  fact  evident.  He  was  very  vigilant  also, 
but  was  very  quiet,  and  kept  himself  in  the  back 
ground.  He  had  seen  Olive  and  Mr.  Hemphill  go  out 
in  the  boat,  but  he  determined  totally  to  ignore  that 
interesting  occurrence.  The  moment  he  had  an  oppor 
tunity  he  would  speak  to  Olive  again,  and  the  existence 
of  other  people  did  not  concern  him. 

Mr.  Hemphill  was  walking  by  the  river ;  Olive  had 
not  allowed  him  to  come  to  the  house  with  her,  for  his 
face  was  so  radiant  with  the  ecstasy  of  not  having  been 
discarded  by  her  that  she  did  not  wish  him  to  be  seen. 
From  her  window  Mrs.  Easterfield  saw  this  young 
man  on  his  return  from  his  promenade,  and  she  knew 
it  would  not  be  many  minutes  before  he  would  reach 
the  house.  She  also  saw  the  diplomat,  who  was  glar 
ing  across  the  grounds  at  some  one,  probably  Mr. 
Locker,  who,  not  unlikely,  was  glaring  back  at  him. 
She  had  come  up-stairs  to  do  some  writing,  but  now 
she  put  down  her  pen  and  called  to  her  secretary. 

"  Miss  Raleigh,"  said  she,  "  it  has  been  a  good 
while  since  you  have  done  anything  for  me. ' ' 

' '  Indeed  it  has, ' '  said  the  other  with  a  sigh. 

' '  But  I  want  you  to  do  something  this  minute.  It 
is  strictly  confidential  business.  I  want  you  to  go 
down  on  the  lawn,  or  any  other  place  where  Miss 
Asher  may  be,  and  make  yourself  moil  a  propos.  I  am 

177 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

busy  now,  but  I  will  relieve  you  before  very  long.  Can 
you  do  that  ?  Do  you  understand  ?  ' : 

The  aspect  of  the  secretary  underwent  a  total 
change.  From  a  dull,  heavy-eyed  woman  she  became 
an  intent,  an  eager  emissary.  Her  hands  trembled  with 
the  intensity  of  her  desire  to  meddle  with  the  affairs  of 
others. 

"  Of  course  I  understand,"  she  exclaimed,  "  and 
I  can  do  it.  You  mean  you  don't  want  any  of  those 
young  men  to  get  a  chance  to  speak  to  Miss  Asher.  Do 
you  include  Mr.  Lancaster?  Or  shall  I  only  keep  off 
the  others?  " 

"  I  include  all  of  them,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield. 
'  Don't  let  any  of  them  have  a  chance  to  speak  to  her 
until  I  can  come  down.  And  hurry!  Here  is  one 
coming  now." 

Hurrying  down-stairs,  the  secretary  glanced  into 
the  library.  There  she  saw  Mrs.  Fox  in  one  armchair, 
and  Olive  in  another,  both  reading.  In  the  hall  were 
the  two  little  girls,  busily  engaged  in  harnessing  two 
small  chairs  to  a  large  armchair  by  means  of  a  ball  of 
pink  yarn.  Outside,  about  a  hundred  yards  away,  she 
saw  Mr.  Hemphill  irresolutely  approaching  the  house. 
Miss  Raleigh's  mind,  frequently  dormant,  was  very 
brisk  and  lively  when  she  had  occasion  to  waken  it. 
She  made  a  dive  toward  the  children. 

"  Dear  little  ones,"  she  cried,  "  don't  you  want  to 
come  out  under  the  trees  and  have  the  good  Mr.  Hemp- 
hill  tell  you  a  story  ?  I  know  he  wants  to  tell  you  one, 
and  it  is  about  a  witch  and  two  pussy-cats  and  a  kan 
garoo.  Come  along.  He  is  out  there  waiting  for  us. ' ' 
Down  dropped  the  ball  of  yarn,  and  with  exultant  cries 

178 


RUSHING    THE     ENEMY'S     POSITION 

each  little  girl  seized  an  outstretched  hand  of  the  secre 
tary,  and  together  they  ran  over  the  grass  to  meet  the 
good  Mr.  Hemphill. 

Of  course  he  was  obliged  to  want  to  tell  them  a 
story ;  they  expected  it  of  him,  and  they  were  his  em 
ployer 's  children.  To  be  sure  he  had  on  mind  some 
thing  very  practical  and  sensible  he  wished  to  say  to 
Miss  Olive,  which  had  come  to  him  during  his  solitary 
walk,  a,nd  which  he  did  not  believe  she  would  object  to 
hearing,  although  he  had  said  so  much  to  her  quite 
recently.  As  soon  as  he  should  begin  to  speak  she 
would  know  that  this  was  something  she  ought  to  know. 
It  was  about  his  mother,  who  had  an  income  of  her 
own,  and  did  not  in  the  least  depend  upon  her  son. 
Miss  Olive  would  certainly  agree  with  him  that  it  was 
proper  for  him  to  tell  her  this. 

But  the  little  girls  seized  his  hands  and  led  him 
away  to  a  bench,  where,  having  seated  him  almost 
forcibly,  each  climbed  upon  a  knee.  The  good  Mr. 
Hemphill  sent  a  furtive  glare  after  Miss  Raleigh,  who, 
with  that  smile  of  gentle  gratification  which  comes  to 
one  after  having  just  done  a  good  deed  to  another, 
sauntered  slowly  away. 

"  Don't  come  back  again,"  cried  out  the  older  of 
the  little  girls.  "  He  was  put  out  in  the  last  story, 
and  we  want  this  to  be  a  long  one.  And  remember, 
Mr.  Rupert,  it  is  to  be  about  a  witch  and  two  pussy 
cats " 

' '  And  a  kangaroo, ' '  added  the  other. 

At  the  front  door  the  secretary  met  Miss  Asher,  just 
emerging.     "  Isn't  that  a  pretty  picture?  "  she  said, 
pointing  to  the  group  under  the  trees. 
14  179 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Olive  looked  at  them  and  smiled.  "  It  is  beauti 
ful,"  she  said;  "  a  regular  family  composition.  I 
wish  I  had  a  kodak. ' ' 

"  Oh,  that  would  never  do!  "  exclaimed  Miss 
Raleigh.  * '  He  is  just  as  sensitive  as  he  can  be,  and,  of 
course,  it's  natural.  And  the  dear  little  things  are  so 
glad  to  get  him  to  themselves  so  that  they  can  have  one 
of  the  long,  long  stories  they  like  so  much.  May  I 
ask  what  that  is  you  are  working,  Miss  Asher?  " 

'  It  is  going  to  be  what  they  call  a  nucleus,"  said 
Olive,  showing  a  little  piece  of  fancy  work.  "  You 
first  crochet  this,  and  then  its  ultimate  character  de 
pends  on  what  you  may  put  around  it.  It  may  be  a 
shawl,  or  a  table  cover,  or  even  an  apron,  if  you  like 
crocheted  aprons.  I  learned  the  stitch  last  winter. 
Would  you  like  me  to  show  it  to  you  1  ' ' 

i  i  I  should  like  it  above  all  things, ' '  said  the  secre 
tary.  And  together  they  walked  to  a  rustic  bench 
quite  away  from  the  story-telling  group.  lt  So  far  I 
have  done  nothing  but  nucleuses, ' '  said  Olive,  as  they 
sat  down.  '  *  I  put  them  away  when  they  are  finished, 
and  then  I  suppose  some  time  I  shall  take  up  one  and 
make  it  into  something. ' ' 

"  Like  those  pastry  shells,"  said  Miss  Raleigh, 
"  which  can  be  laid  away  and  which  you  can  fill  up 
with  preserves  or  jam  whenever  you  want  a  pie.  How 
many  of  these  have  you,  Miss  Asher  ?  ' : 

"  When  this  is  finished  there  will  be  four,"  said 
Olive. 

At  some  distance,  and  near  the  garden,  Dick  Lan 
caster,  strolling  eastward,  encountered  Claude  Locker, 
strolling  westward. 

180 


RUSHING    THE    ENEMY'S     POSITION 

11  Hello!  "  cried  Locker.  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you. 
Brought  your  baggage  with  you  this  time,  I  see.  That 
means  you  are  going  to  stay,  of  course. ' ' 

"  A  couple  of  days,"  replied  Dick. 

"  Well,  a  man  can  do  a  lot  in  that  time,  and  you 
may  have  something  to  do,  but  I  am  not  sure.  No, 
sir,"  continued  Locker,  "  I  am  not  sure.  I  am  on 
the  point  of  making  a  demonstration  in  force.  But 
the  enemy  is  always  presenting  some  new  force.  By 
enemy  you  understand  me  to  mean  that  which  I  adore 
above  all  else  in  the  world,  but  which  must  be  attacked, 
and  that  right  soon  if  her  defenses  are  to  be  carried. 
Step  this  way  a  little,  and  look  over  there.  Do  you  see 
that  Raleigh  woman  sitting  on  a  bench  with  her? 
Well,  now,  if  I  had  not  had  such  a  beastly  generous 
disposition  I  might  be  sitting  on  that  bench  this  min 
ute.  I  was  deceived  by  a  feint  of  the  opposing  forces 
this  morning.  I  don't  mean  she  deceived  me.  I  did 
it  myself.  Although  I  had  the  right  by  treaty  to 
march  in  upon  her,  I  myself  offered  to  establish  a 
truce  in  order  that  she  might  bury  her  dead.  I  did 
not  know  who  had  been  killed,  but  it  looked  as  if  there 
were  losses  of  some  kind.  But  it  was  a  false  alarm. 
The  dead  must  have  turned  up  only  missing,  and  she 
was  as  lively  as  a  cricket  at  luncheon,  and  went  out  in 
a  boat  with  that  tailor's  model — sixteen  dollars  and 
forty-eight  cents  for  the  entire  suit  ready-made;  or 
twenty- three  dollars  made  to  order. ' ' 

Dick  smiled  a  little,  but  his  soul  rebelled  within 
him.  He  regretted  that  he  had  given  his  promise  to 
Mrs.  Easterfield.  What  he  wanted  to  do  that  moment 
was  to  go  over  to  Captain  Asher  's  niece  and  ask  her  to 

181 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

take  a  walk  with  him.  What  other  man  had  a  better 
right  to  speak  to  her  than  he  had  ?  But  he  respected 
his  word;  it  would  be  very  hard  to  break  a  promise 
made  to  Mrs.  Easterfield ;  and  he  stood  with  his  hands 
in  his  pockets,  and  his  brows  knit. 

"  Now,  I  tell  you  what  I  am  going  to  do,"  said 
Locker.  "  I  am  going  to  wait  a  little  while — a  very 
little  while — and  then  I  shall  bounce  over  my  earth 
works,  and  rush  her  position.  It  is  the  only  way  to  do 
it,  and  I  shall  be  up  and  at  her  with  cold  steel.  And 
now  I  will  tell  you  what  you  must  do.  Just  you  hold 
yourself  in  reserve ;  and,  if  I  am  routed,  you  charge. 
You'd  better  do  it  if  you  know  what's  good  for  you, 
for  that  Austrian's  over  there  pulverizing  his  teeth 
and  swearing  in  French  because  that  Raleigh  woman 
doesn't  get  up  and  go.  Now,  I  won't  keep  you  any 
longer,  but  don't  go  far  away.  I  can't  talk  any  more, 
for  I've  got  to  have  every  eye  fixed  upon  the  point  of 
attack." 

Dick  looked  at  the  animated  face  of  his  companion, 
and  began  to  ask  himself  if  the  moment  had  not  ar 
rived  when  even  a  promise  made  to  Mrs.  Easterfield 
might  be  disregarded.  Should  he  consent  to  allow  his 
fate  to  depend  upon  the  fortunes  of  Mr.  Locker  1  lie 
scorned  the  notion.  It  would  be  impossible  for  the 
girl  who  had  talked  so  sweetly,  so  earnestly,  so  straight 
from  her  heart,  when  he  had  met  her  on  the  shunpike, 
to  marry  such  a  mountebank  as  this  fellow,  generous  as 
he  might  be  with  that  wrhich  could  never  belong  to 
him.  As  to  the  diplomat,  he  did  not  condescend  to 
bestow  a  thought  upon  such  a  black-pointed  little 
foreigner. 

182 


CHAPTER    XXI 

Miss  Raleigh  enjoys  a  Rare  Privilege 

Miss  RALEIGH  was  very  attentive  to  the  instruc 
tions  given  her  by  Miss  Asher,  and  while  she  exhibited 
the  fashion  of  the  new  stitch  Olive  reflected. 

"  I  wonder,"  she  said  to  herself,  "  if  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  has  done  this.  It  looks  very  much  like  it,  and  if 
she  did  I  am  truly  obliged  to  her.  There  is  nothing  I 
want  so  much  now  as  a  rest,  and  I  didn't  want  to 
stay  in  the  house  either.  Miss  Raleigh,"  said  she, 
suddenly  changing  the  subject,  "  were  you  ever  in 
love?  " 

The  secretary  started.  "  What  do  you  mean  by 
that?  "she  asked. 

"  I  don't  mean  anything,"  said  Olive.  "  I  simply 
wanted  to  know. ' ' 

"  It  is  a  queer  question,"  said  Miss  Raleigh,  her 
face  changing  to  another  shade  of  sallowness. 

"  I  know  that,"  said  Olive  quickly,  "  but  the  an 
swers  to  queer  questions  are  always  so  much  more 
interesting  than  those  to  any  others.  Don 't  you  think 
so?  " 

"  Yes,  they  are,"  said  Miss  Raleigh  thoughtfully, 
' '  but  they  are  generally  awfully  hard  to  get.  I  have 
tried  it  myself." 

183 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  Then  you  ought  to  have  a  fellow  feeling  for  me," 
said  Olive. 

' l  Well, ' '  said  the  other,  looking  steadfastly  at  her 
companion, ' '  if  you  will  promise  to  keep  it  all  to  your 
self  forever,  I  don't  mind  telling  you  that  I  was  once 
in  love.  Would  you  like  me  to  tell  you  who  I  was  in 
love  with?  " 

*  *  Yes, ' '  said  Olive,  * '  if  you  are  willing  to  tell  me. ' ' 

"  Oh,  I  am  perfectly  willing,"  said  the  secretary. 
11  It  was  Mr.  Hemphill." 

Olive  turned  suddenly  and  looked  at  her  in  amaze 
ment. 

"  Yes,  it  was  Mr.  Hemphill  over  there,"  said  the 
other,  speaking  very  tranquilly,  as  if  the  subject  were 
of  no  importance.  ' '  You  see,  I  have  been  living  with 
the  Easterfields  for  a  long  time,  and  in  the  winter  we 
see  a  good  deal  of  Mr.  Hemphill.  He  has  to  come  to 
the  house  on  business,  and  often  takes  meals.  He  is 
Mr.  Easterneld's  private  and  confidential  secretary. 
And,  somehow  or  other,  seeing  him  so  often,  and  some 
times  being  his  partner  at  cards  when  two  were  needed 
to  make  up  a  game,  I  forgot  that  I  was  older  than  he, 
and  I  actually  fell  in  love  with  him.  You  see  he  has 
a  good  heart,  Miss  Asher;  anybody  could  tell  that 
from  his  way  with  children;  and  I  have  noticed 
that  bachelors  are  often  nicer  with  children  than 
fathers  are." 

"  And  he?  "  asked  Olive. 

Miss  Raleigh  laughed  a  little  laugh.  "  Oh,  I  did 
all  the  loving,"  she  answered.  "  He  never  recipro 
cated  the  least  little  bit,  and  I  often  wondered  why  I 
adored  him  as  much  as  I  did.  He  was  handsome,  and 

184 


MISS  RALEIGH  ENJOYS  A  PRIVILEGE 

he  was  good,  and  he  had  excellent  taste ;  he  was  thor 
oughly  trustworthy  in  his  relations  to  the  family,  and 
I  believe  he  would  be  equally  so  in  all  relations  of  life ; 
but  all  that  did  not  account  for  my  unconquerable 
ardor,  which  was  caused  by  a  certain  something  which 
you  know,  Miss  Asher,  we  can 't  explain. ' ' 

Olive  tried  hard  not  to  allow  any  emotion  to  show 
itself  in  her  face,  but  she  did  not  altogether  succeed. 
' '  And  you  still —  ' '  said  she. 

* '  No,  I  don 't, ' '  interrupted  Miss  Raleigh.  l '  I  love 
him  no  longer.  There  came  a  time  when  all  my  fire 
froze.  I  discovered  that  there  was " 

"  I  say,  Miss  Asher — "  it  was  the  voice  of  Claude 
Locker. 

Olive  looked  around  at  him.     ' '  Well  ?  ' '  said  she. 

"  Perhaps  you  have  not  noticed,"  said  he,  "  that 
the  tennis  ground  is  now  in  the  shade,  and  if  you  don't 
mind  walking  that  way — "  He  said  a  good  deal  more 
which  Miss  Raleigh  did  not  believe,  understanding  the 
young  man  thoroughly,  and  which  Olive  did  not  hear. 
Her  mind  was  very  busy  with  what  she  had  just  heard, 
which  made  a  great  impression  on  her.  She  did  not 
know  whether  she  was  affronted,  or  hurt,  or  merely 
startled. 

Here  was  a  man  who  loved  her,  a  man  she  had  loved, 
and  one  about  whom  she  had  been  questioning  herself 
as  to  the  possibility  of  her  loving  him  again.  And 
here  was  a  woman,  a  dyspeptic,  unwholesome  spinster, 
who  had  just  said  she  had  loved  him.  If  Miss  Raleigh 
had  loved  this  man,  how  could  she,  Olive,  love  him? 
There  was  something  repugnant  about  it  which  she  did 
not  attempt  to  understand.  It  went  beyond  reason. 

185 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

She  felt  it  to  be  an  actual  relief  to  look  up  at  Claude 
Locker,  and  to  listen  to  what  he  was  saying. 

' '  You  mean, ' '  said  she  presently,  *  *  that  you  would 
like  Miss  Raleigh  and  me  to  come  with  you  and  play 
tennis." 

"  I  did  not  know  Miss  Raleigh  played,"  he  an 
swered,  "  but  I  thought  perhaps 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Olive.  "  I  would  not  think  of 
such  a  thing.  In  fact,  Miss  Raleigh  and  I  are  engaged. 
We  are  very  busy  about  some  important  work." 

Mr.  Locker  gazed  at  the  crocheted  nucleus  with  an 
air  of  the  loftiest  disdain.  "  Of  course,  of  course," 
said  he,  "  but  you  really  oblige  me,  Miss  Asher,  to 
speak  very  plainly  and  frankly  and  to  say  that  I  really 
do  not  care  about  playing  tennis,  but  that  I  want  to 
speak  to  you  on  a  most  important  subject,  which,  for 
reasons  that  I  will  explain,  must  be  spoken  of  immedi 
ately.  So,  if  Miss  Raleigh  will  be  kind  enough  to  post 
pone  the  little  matter  you  have  on  hand 

Olive  smiled  and  shook  her  head.  "  No,  indeed, 
sir, ' '  she  said ;  *  *  I  would  not  hurt  a  lady 's  feelings  in 
that  way,  and  moreover,  I  would  not  allow  her  to  hurt 
her  own  feelings.  It  would  hurt  your  feelings,  Miss 
Raleigh,  wouldn't  it,  to  be  sent  away  like  a  child  who  is 
not  wanted  ?  ' ' 

li  Yes,"  said  the  secretary,  "  I  think  it  would." 

Mr.  Locker  listened  in  amazement.  He  had  not 
thought  the  mature  maiden  had  the  nerve  to  say  that. 

"  Then  again,"  said  Olive,  "  this  isn't  the  time 
for  you  to  talk  business  with  me,  and  you  should  not 
disturb  me  at  this  hour." 

"  Oh,"  said  Locker,  bringing  down  the  forefinger 
186 


MISS  RALEIGH  ENJOYS  A  PRIVILEGE 

of  his  right  hand  upon  the  palm  of  his  left,  ' '  that  is  a 
point,  a  very  essential  point.  I  voluntarily  surren 
dered  the  period  of  discourse  which  you  assigned  to 
me  for  a  reason  which  I  now  believe  did  not  exist, 
and  this  is  only  an  assertion  of  the  rights  vested  in 
me  by  you." 

Miss  Raleigh  listened  very  attentively  to  these  re 
marks,  but  could  not  imagine  what  they  meant. 

Olive  looked  at  him  graciously.  '  *  Yes, ' '  she  said, 
' '  you  are  very  generous,  but  your  period  for  discourse, 
as  you  call  it,  will  have  to  be  postponed. ' ' 

"  But  it  can't  be  postponed,"  he  answered.  "  If 
I  could  see  you  alone  I  could  soon  explain  that  to  you. 
There  are  certain  reasons  why  I  must  speak  now." 

"  I  can't  help  it,"  said  Olive.  "  I  am  not  going 
to  leave  Miss  Raleigh,  and  I  am  sure  she  does  not  want 
to  leave  me,  so  if  you  are  obliged  to  speak  you  must 
speak  before  her." 

Mr.  Locker  gazed  from  one  to  the  other  of  the  two 
ladies  who  sat  before  him ;  each  of  them  wore  a  gentle 
but  determined  expression.  He  addressed  the  secre 
tary. 

"  Miss  Raleigh,"  said  he,  "  if  you  understood  the 
reason  for  my  strong  desire  to  speak  in  private  with 
Miss  Asher,  perhaps  you  would  respect  it  and  give  me 
the  opportunity  I  ask  for.  I  am  here  to  make  a  propo 
sition  of  marriage  to  this  lady,  and  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  I  make  it  without  loss  of  time.  Do  you 
desire  me  to  make  it  in  your  presence  ?  ' : 

'  I  should  like  it  very  much,"  said  Miss  Raleigh. 

Mr.  Locker  gave  her  a  look  of  despair,  and  turned 
to  Olive.  "  Would  you  permit  that?  "  he  asked. 

187 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  If  it  is  absolutely  necessary,"  she  said,  "  I  sup 
pose  I  shall  have  to  permit  it." 

Mr.  Locker  had  the  soul  of  a  lion  in  his  somewhat 
circumscribed  body,  and  he  was  not  to  be  recklessly 
dared  to  action. 

'  *  Very  well,  then, ' '  said  he,  ' '  I  shall  proceed  as  if 
wre  were  alone,  and  I  hope,  Miss  Raleigh,  you  will  at 
least  see  fit  to  consider  yourself  in  a  strictly  confiden 
tial  position." 

* '  Indeed  I  shall, ' '  she  replied ; ' '  not  one  word  shall 
ever ' ' 

"  I  hope  not,"  interrupted  Claude,  "  and  I  will 
add  that  if  I  should  ever  be  accidentally  present  when 
a  gentleman  is  about  to  propose  to  you,  Miss  Raleigh, 
I  shall  heap  coals  of  fire  upon  your  head  by  instan 
taneously  withdrawing. ' ' 

The  secretary  was  about  to  thank  him,  but  Olive 
interrupted.  "  Now,  Claude  Locker,"  said  she, 
"  what  can  you  possibly  have  to  say  to  me  that  you 
have  not  said  before  ?  ' : 

* '  A  good  deal,  Miss  Asher,  a  good  deal,  although  I 
don't  wonder  you  suppose  that  no  man  could  say  more 
to  you  of  his  undying  affection  than  I  have  already 
said.  But,  since  I  last  spoke  on  the  subject,  I  have 
been  greatly  impressed  by  the  fact  that  I  have  not  said 
enough  about  myself ;  that  I  have  not  made  you  under 
stand  me  as  I  really  am.  I  know  very  well  that  most 
people,  and  I  suppose  that  at  some  time  you  have  been 
among  them,  look  upon  me  as  a  very  frivolous  young 
man,  and  not  one  to  whom  the  right  sort  of  a  girl  should 
give  herself  in  marriage.  But  that  is  a  mistake.  I  am 
as  much  to  be  depended  upon  as  anybody  you  ever  met. 

188 


MISS  RALEIGH  ENJOYS  A  PRIVILEGE 

My  apparently  whimsical  aspect  is  merely  the  outside 
— my  shell,  marked  off  in  queer  designs  with  varie 
gated  colors — but  within  that  shell  I  am  as  domestic,  as 
sober,  and  as  surely  to  be  found  where  I  am  expected  to 
be  as  any  turtle.  This  may  seem  a  queer  figure,  but 
it  strikes  me  as  a  very  good  one.  When  I  am  wanted 
I  am  there.  You  can  always  depend  upon  me. ' ' 

There  was  not  a  smile  upon  the  face  of  either 
woman  as  he  spoke.  They  were  listening  earnestly, 
and  with  the  deepest  interest.  Miss  Raleigh's  eyes 
sparkled,  and  Olive  seemed  to  be  most  seriously  con 
sidering  this  new  aspect  in  which  Mr.  Locker  was  en 
deavoring  to  place  himself. 

"  Perhaps  you  may  think,"  Claude  continued, 
"  that  you  would  not  desire  turtle-like  qualities  in  a 
husband,  you  who  are  so  bright,  so  bounding,  so  much 
like  a  hare,  but  I  assure  you,  that  is  just  the  compan 
ion  who  would  suit  you.  All  day  you  might  skip  among 
the  flowers,  and  in  the  fields,  and  wherever  you  were, 
you  would  always  know  where  I  was — making  a  steady 
bee-line  for  home ;  and  you  would  know  that  I  would 
be  there  to  welcome  you  when  you  arrived." 

1 1  That  is  very  pretty !  ' '  said  Miss  Raleigh.  And 
then  she  quickly  added:  "  Excuse  me  for  making  a 
remark. ' ' 

"  Now,  Miss  Asher,"  continued  Locker,  "  I  have 
tried,  very  imperfectly,  I  know,  to  make  you  see  me  as 
I  really  am,  and  I  do  hope  you  can  put  an  end  to  this 
suspense  which  is  keeping  me  in  a  nervous  tingle.  I 
can  not  sleep  at  night,  and  all  day  I  am  thinking  what 
you  will  say  when  you  do  decide.  You  need  not  be 
afraid  to  speak  out  before  Miss  Raleigh.  She  is  in 

189 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

with  us  now,  and  she  can't  get  out.  I  would  not  press 
you  for  an  answer  at  this  moment,  but  there  are  rea 
sons  which  I  can  not  say  anything  about  without  med 
dling  with  other  people's  business.  But  my  business 
with  you  is  the  happiness  of  my  life,  and  I  feel  that  I 
can  not  longer  endure  having  it  momentarily  jeop 
ardized." 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  speech  a  faint  color  actu 
ally  stole  into  Miss  Raleigh's  face,  and  she  clasped  her 
thin  hands  in  the  intensity  of  her  approval. 

1 '  Mr.  Locker, ' '  said  Olive,  speaking  very  pleas 
antly,  "  if  you  had  come  to  me  to-day  and  had  asked 
me  for  a  decision  based  upon  what  you  had  already 
said  to  me,  I  think  I  might  have  settled  the  matter. 
But  after  what  you  have  just  told  me,  I  can  not  an 
swer  you  now.  You  give  me  things  to  think  about, 
and  I  must  wait." 

"  Heavens!  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Locker,  clasping  his 
hands.  * '  Am  I  not  yet  to  know  whether  I  am  to  rise 
into  paradise,  or  to  sink  into  the  infernal  regions?  ' 

Olive  smiled.  "  Don't  do  either,  Mr.  Locker,"  she 
said.  "  This  earth  is  a  very  pleasant  place.  Stay 
where  you  are." 

He  folded  his  arms  and  gazed  at  her.  "  It  is  a 
pleasant  place, ' '  said  he,  ' '  and  I  am  mighty  glad  I  got 
in  my  few  remarks  before  you  made  your  decision.  I 
leave  my  love  with  you  on  approbation,  and  you  may 
be  sure  I  shall  come  to-morrow  before  luncheon  to  hear 
what  you  say  about  it. " 

"  I  shall  expect  you,"  said  Olive.  And  as  she 
spoke  her  eyes  were  full  of  kind  consideration. 

11  Now,  that's  genuine,"  said  Miss  Raleigh,  when 
190 


MISS  RALEIGH  ENJOYS  A  PRIVILEGE 

Locker  had  departed.  "  If  he  had  not  felt  every  word 
he  said  he  could  not  have  said  it  before  me. ' ' 

"  No  doubt  you  are  right,"  said  Olive.  "  He  is 
very  brave.  And  now  you  see  this  new  line,  which 
begins  an  entirely  different  kind  of  stitch !  ' ' 

In  the  middle  distance  Mr.  Du  Brant  still  strolled 
backward  and  forward,  pulverizing  his  teeth  and 
swearing  in  French.  He  seldom  removed  his  eyes 
from  Miss  Asher,  but  still  she  sat  on  that  bench  and 
crocheted,  and  talked,  and  talked,  and  crocheted,  with 
that  everlasting  Miss  Raleigh!  He  had  seen  Locker 
with  her,  and  he  had  seen  him  go ;  and  now  he  hoped 
that  the  woman  would  soon  depart.  Then  it  would  be 
his  chance. 

The  young  Austrian  had  become  most  eager  to  make 
Olive  his  wife.  He  earnestly  loved  her;  and,  beyond 
that,  he  had  come  to  see  that  a  marriage  with  her 
would  be  most  advantageous  to  his  prospects.  This 
beautiful  and  brilliant  American  girl,  familiar  with 
foreign  life  and  foreign  countries,  would  give  him  a 
position  in  diplomatic  society  which  would  be  most 
desirable.  She  might  not  bring  him  much  money; 
although  he  believed  that  all  American  girls  had  some 
money;  but  she  would  bring  him  favor,  distinction, 
and,  most  likely,  advancement.  With  such  a  wife  he 
would  be  a  welcome  envoy  at  any  court.  And,  besides, 
he  loved  her.  But,  alas,  Miss  Raleigh  would  not  go 
away. 

About  half  an  hour  after  Claude  Locker  left  Olive 
he  encountered  Dick  Lancaster. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  charged.  I  was  not  routed,  I 
can't  say  that  I  was  even  repulsed.  But  I  was  obliged 

191 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

to  withdraw  my  forces.  I  shall  go  into  camp,  and 
renew  the  attack  to-morrow.  So,  my  friend,  you  will 
have  to  wait.  I  wish  I  could  say  that  there  is  no  use 
of  your  waiting,  but  I  am  a  truthful  person  and  can't 
do  that." 

Lancaster  was  not  pleased.  * '  It  seems  to  me, ' '  he 
said,  ' '  that  you  trifle  with  the  most  important  affairs 
of  life." 

' '  Trifle !  ' '  exclaimed  Locker.  ' '  Would  you  call 
it  trifling  if  I  fail,  and  then  to  save  her  from  a  worse 
fate,  were  to  back  you  up  with  all  my  heart  and  soul  1  ' ' 

Dick  could  not  help  smiling.  ' '  By  a  worse  fate, ' ' 
he  said,  "  I  suppose  you  mean ' 

"  The  Austrian,"  interrupted  Locker.  "  Mrs. 
Easterfield  has  told  me  something  about  him.  He  may 
have  a  title  some  day,  and  he  is  about  as  dangerous  as 
they  make  them.  Instead  of  accusing  me  of  trifling, 
you  ought  to  go  dowrn  on  your  knees  and  thank  me  for 
still  standing  between  him  and  her. ' ' 

"  That  is  a  duty  I  would  like  to  perform  myself," 
said  Dick. 

1  i  Perhaps  you  may  have  a  chance, ' '  sighed  Locker, 
"  but  I  most  earnestly  hope  not.  Look  over  there  at 
that  he-nurse.  Those  children  have  made  him  take 
them  walking,  and  he  is  just  coming  back  to  the 
house. ' ' 


192 


CHAPTER    XXII 

The  Conflicting  Serenades 

MRS.  EASTERFIELD  worked  steadily  at  her  letter, 
feeling  confident  all  the  time  that  her  secretary  was 
attending  conscientiously  to  the  task  which  had  been 
assigned  to  her,  and  which  could  not  fail  to  be  a  most 
congenial  one.  One  of  the  greatest  joys  of  Miss 
Raleigh's  life  was  to  interfere  in  other  people's  busi 
ness  ;  and  to  do  it  under  approval  and  with  the  feeling 
that  it  was  her  duty  was  a  rare  joy. 

The  letter  was  to  her  husband,  and  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  was  writing  it  because  she  was  greatly  troubled, 
and  even  frightened.  In  the  indulgence  of  a  good- 
humored  and  romantic  curiosity  to  know  whether  or 
not  a  grown-up  young  woman  would  return  to  a  senti 
mental  attachment  of  her  girlhood,  she  had  brought 
her  husband 's  secretary  to  the  house  with  consequences 
which  were  appalling.  If  this  navy  girl  she  had  on 
hand  had  been  a  mere  flirt,  Mrs.  Easterfield,  an  expe 
rienced  woman  of  society,  might  not  have  been  very 
much  troubled,  but  Olive  seemed  to  her  to  be  much 
more  than  a  flirt;  she  would  trifle  until  she  made  up 
her  mind,  but  when  she  should  come  to  a  decision  Mrs. 
Easterfield  believed  she  would  act  fairly  and  squarely. 
She  wanted  to  marry ;  and,  in  her  heart,  Mrs.  Easter- 

193 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

field  commended  her;  without  a  mother;  now  more 
than  ever  without  a  father;  her  only  near  relative 
about  to  marry  a  woman  who  was  certainly  a  most  un 
desirable  connection ;  Olive  was  surely  right  in  wishing 
to  settle  in  life.  And,  if  piqued  and  affronted  by  her 
father's  intended  marriage,  she  wished  immediately  to 
declare  her  independence,  the  girl  could  not  be  blamed. 
And,  from  what  she  had  said  of  Mr.  Hemphill,  Mrs. 
Easterfield  could  not  in  her  own  mind  dissent.  He  was 
a  good  young  man;  he  had  an  excellent  position;  he 
fervently  loved  Olive ;  she  had  loved  him,  and  might  do 
it  again.  What  was  there  to  which  she  could  object  ? 
Only  this:  it  angered  and  frightened  her  to  think  of 
Olive  Asher  throwing  herself  away  upon  Rupert 
Hemphill.  So  she  wrote  a  very  strong  letter  to  her 
husband,  representing  to  him  that  the  danger  was  very 
great  and  imminent,  and  that  he  was  needed  at  Broad- 
stone  just  as  soon  as  he  could  get  there.  Business 
could  be  set  aside;  his  wife's  happiness  was  at  stake; 
for  if  this  unfortunate  match  should  be  made,  it  would 
be  her  doing,  and  it  would  cloud  her  whole  life.  Of 
herself  she  did  not  know  what  to  do,  and  if  she  had 
known,  she  could  not  have  done  it.  But  if  he  came  he 
would  not  only  know  everything,  but  could  do  any 
thing.  This  indicated  her  general  opinion  of  Mr. 
Tom  Easterfield. 

' '  Now, ' '  said  she  to  herself,  as  she  fixed  an  imme 
diate-delivery  stamp  upon  the  letter,  "  that  ought  to 
bring  him  here  before  lunch  to-morrow. ' ' 

When  Olive  saw  fit  to  go  to  her  room  Miss  Raleigh 
felt  relieved  from  guard,  and  went  to  Mrs.  Easterfield 
to  report.  She  told  that  lady  everything  that  had  hap- 

194 


THE    CONFLICTING    SERENADES 

pened,  even  including  her  own  emotions  at  various 
points  of  the  interview.  The  amazed  Mrs.  Easterfield 
listened  with  the  greatest  interest. 

: '  I  knew  Claude  Locker  was  capable  of  almost  any 
wild  proceeding,"  she  said,  "  but  I  did  not  think  he 
would  do  that!  " 

' '  There  is  one  thing  I  forgot, ' '  said  the  secretary, 
"  and  that  is  that  I  promised  Mr.  Locker  not  to  men 
tion  a  word  of  what  happened." 

"  I  am  very  glad,"  replied  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  that 
you  remembered  that  promise  after  you  told  me  every 
thing,  and  not  before.  You  have  done  admirably  so 
far." 

"  And  if  I  have  any  other  opportunities  of  inter 
polating  myself,  so  to  speak,"  said  Miss  Raleigh, 
' '  shall  I  embrace  them  ?  ' : 

Mrs.  Easterfield  laughed.  "  I  don't  want  you  to 
be  too  obviously  zealous, ' '  she  answered.  ' '  I  think  for 
the  present  we  may  relax  our  efforts  to  relieve  Miss 
Asher  of  annoyance."  Mrs.  Easterfield  believed  this. 
She  had  faith  in  Olive ;  and  if  that  young  woman  had 
promised  to  give  Claude  Locker  another  hearing  the 
next  day  she  did  not  believe  that  the  girl  would  give 
anybody  else  a  positive  answer  before  that  time. 

Miss  Raleigh  went  away  not  altogether  satisfied. 
She  did  not  believe  in  relaxed  vigilance ;  for  one  thing, 
it  was  not  interesting. 

Olive  was  surprised  when  she  found  that  Mr.  Lan 
caster  was  to  stay  to  dinner,  and  afterward  when  she 
was  informed  that  he  had  been  invited  to  spend  a  few 
days,  she  reflected.  It  looked  like  some  sort  of  a  plan, 
and  what  did  Mrs.  Easterfiel'd  mean  by  it  ?  She  knew 
15  195 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

the  lady  of  the  house  had  a  very  good  opinion  of  the 
young  professor,  and  that  might  explain  the  invitation 
at  this  particular  moment,  but  still  it  did  look  like  a 
plan,  and  as  Olive  had  no  sympathy  with  plans  of  this 
sort  she  determined  not  to  trouble  her  head  about  it. 
And  to  show  her  non-concern,  she  was  very  gracious  to 
Mr.  Lancaster,  and  received  her  reward  in  an  ex 
tremely  interesting  conversation. 

Still  Olive  reflected,  and  was  not  in  her  usual  lively 
spirits.  Mr.  Fox  said  to  Mrs.  Fox  that  it  was  an 
abominable  shame  to  allow  a  crowd  of  incongruous 
young  men  to  swarm  in  upon  a  country  house  party, 
and  interfere  seriously  with  the  pleasures  of  intelligent 
and  self-respecting  people. 

That  night,  after  Mrs.  Easterfield  had  gone  to  bed, 
and  before  she  slept,  she  heard  something  which  in 
stantly  excited  her  attention;  it  was  the  sound  of  a 
guitar,  and  it  came  from  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  house. 
Jumping  up,  and  throwing  a  dressing-gown  about  her, 
she  cautiously  approached  the  open  window.  But  the 
night  was  dark,  and  she  could  see  nothing.  Pushing 
an  armchair  to  one  side  of  the  window,  she  seated  her 
self,  and  listened.  Words  now  began  to  mingle  with 
the  music,  and  these  words  were  French.  Now  she 
understood  everything  perfectly.  Mr.  Du  Brant  was 
a  musician,  and  had  helped  himself  to  the  guitar  in 
the  library. 

From  the  position  in  which  she  sat  Mrs.  Easterfield 
could  look  upon  a  second-story  window  in  a  projecting 
wing  of  the  house,  and  upon  this  window,  which  be 
longed  to  Olive's  room,  and  which  was  barely  percep 
tible  in  the  gloom,  she  now  fixed  her  eyes.  The  song 

196 


THE    CONFLICTING    SERENADES 

and  the  thrumming  went  on,  but  no  signs  of  life  could 
be  seen  in  the  black  square  of  that  open  window. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  was  not  a  bad  French  scholar,  and 
she  caught  enough  of  the  meaning  of  the  words  to 
understand  that  they  belonged  to  a  very  pretty  love 
song  in  which  the  flowers  looked  up  to  the  sky  to  see  if 
it  were  blue,  because  they  knew  if  it  were  the  fair  one 
smiled,  and  then  their  tender  buds  might  ope ;  and,  if 
she  smiled,  his  heart  implored  that  she  might  smile  on 
him.  There  was  a  second  verse,  much  resembling  the 
first,  except  that  the  flowers  feared  that  clouds  might 
sweep  the  sky ;  and  they  lamented  accordingly. 

Now,  Mrs.  Easterfield  imagined  that  she  saw  some 
thing  white  in  the  depths  of  the  darkness  of  Olive's 
room,  but  it  did  not  come  to  the  front,  and  she  was 
very  uncertain  about  it.  Suddenly,  however,  some 
thing  happened  about  which  she  could  not  be  in  the 
least  uncertain.  Above  Olive's  room  was  a  chamber 
appropriated  to  the  use  of  bachelor  visitors,  and  from 
the  window  of  this  room  now  burst  upon  the  night  a 
wild,  unearthly  chant.  It  was  a  song  with  words  but 
without  music,  and  the  voice  in  which  it  was  shot  out 
into  the  darkness  was  harsh,  was  shrill,  was  insolently 
blatant.  And  thus  the  clamorous  singer  sang : 

"  My  angel  maid — ahoy! 
If  aught  should  you  annoy, 

By  act  or  sound, 

From  sky  or  ground, 

I  then  pray  thee 

To  call  on  me 
My  angel  maid — ahoy, 
My  ange — my  ange — 1  maid 
Ahoy!     Ahoy!     Ahoy!" 

'197 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

The  music  of  the  guitar  now  ceased,  and  no  French 
words  were  heard.  No  ditty  of  Latin  origin,  be  it  ever 
so  melodious  and  fervid,  could  stand  against  such  a 
wild  storm  of  Anglo-Saxon  vociferation.  Every  ahoy 
rang  out  as  if  sea  captains  were  hailing  each  other  in 
a  gale ! 

"  What  lungs  he  has!  "  thought  Mrs.  Easterfield, 
as  she  put  her  hand  over  her  mouth  so  that  no  one 
should  hear  her  laugh.  At  the  open  window,  at  which 
she  still  steadily  gazed,  she  now  felt  sure  she  saw  some 
thing  white  which  moved,  but  it  did  not  come  to  the 
front. 

A  wave  of  half -smothered  objurgation  now  rolled 
up  from  below ;  it  was  not  to  be  readily  caught,  but  its 
tone  indicated  rage  and  disappointment.  But  the 
guitar  had  ceased  to  sound,  and  the  French  love  song 
was  heard  no  more.  A  little  irrepressible  laugh  came 
from  somewhere,  but  who  heard  it  beside  herself  Mrs. 
Easterfield  could  not  know.  Then  all  was  still,  and  the 
insects  of  the  night,  and  the  tree  frogs,  had  the  stage 
to  themselves. 

Early  in  the  morning  Miss  Raleigh  presented  her 
self  before  Mrs.  Easterfield  to  make  a  report.  "  There 
was  a  serenade  last  night,"  she  said,  "  not  far  from 
Miss  Asher's  window.  In  fact,  there  were  two,  but 
one  of  them  came  from  Mr.  Locker's  room,  and  was 
simply  awful.  Mr.  Du  Brant  was  the  gentleman  who 
sang  from  the  lawn,  and  I  was  very  sorry  when  he  felt 
himself  obliged  to  stop.  I  do  not  think  very  much  of 
him,  but  he  certainly  has  a  pleasant  voice,  and  plays 
well  on  the  guitar.  I  think  he  must  have  been  a  good 
deal  cut  up  by  being  interrupted  in  that  dreadful 

198 


THE    CONFLICTING    SERENADES 

way,  for  he  grumbled  and  growled,  and  did  not  go  into 
the  house  for  some  time.  I  am  sure  he  would  have 
been  very  glad  to  fight  if  any  one  had  come  down." 

"  You  mean,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  if  Mr. 
Locker  had  come. ' ' 

"  Well,"  said  the  secretary,  "  if  Mr.  Hemphill  had 
appeared  I  have  no  doubt  he  would  have  answered. 
Mr.  Du  Brant  seemed  to  me  ready  to  fight  anybody. ' ' 

"  How  do  you  know  so  much  about  him?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  And  why  did  you  think  of  Mr. 
HemphilH  " 

' '  Oh,  he  was  looking  out  of  his  window, ' '  said  Miss 
Raleigh.  ' '  He  could  not  see,  but  he  could  hear. ' ' 

"  I  ask  you  again,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  how 
do  you  know  all  this  ?  ' : 

' '  Oh,  I  had  not  gone  to  bed,  and,  at  the  first  sound 
of  the  guitar,  I  slipped  on  a  waterproof  with  a  hood, 
and  went  out.  Of  course,  I  wanted  to  know  every 
thing  that  was  happening. ' ' 

"  I  had  not  the  least  idea  you  were  such  an  ener 
getic  person,"  remarked  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  and  I 
think  you  were  entirely  too  rash.  But  how  about  Mr. 
Lancaster  ?  Do  you  know  if  he  was  listening  ?  ' : 

Miss  Raleigh  stood  silent  for  a  moment,  then  she 
exclaimed :  ' '  There  now,  it  is  too  bad !  I  entirely  for 
got  him!  I  have  not  the  slightest  idea  whether  he 
was  asleep  or  awake,  and  it  would  have  been  just  as 
easy ' ' 

"  Well,  you  need  not  regret  it,"  said  Mrs.  Easter 
field.  '  *  I  think  you  did  quite  enough,  and  if  anything 
of  the  kind  occurs  again  I  positively  forbid  you  to  go 
out  of  the  house." 

199 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

1 '  There  is  one  thing  we  've  got  to  look  after, ' '  said 
Miss  Raleigh,  without  heeding  the  last  remark,  "  this 
may  result  in  bloodshed." 

"  Nonsense,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield;  "  nothing  of 
that  kind  is  to  be  feared  from  the  gentlemen  who  visit 
Broadstone." 

"  Still,"  said  Miss  Raleigh,  "  don't  you  think  it 
would  be  well  for  me  to  keep  an  eye  on  them  ?  ' : 

' '  Oh,  you  may  keep  both  eyes  on  them  if  you  want 
to,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  Then  she  began  to  talk 
about  something  else,  but,  although  she  dismissed 
the  matter  so  lightly,  she  was  very  glad  at  heart  that 
she  had  sent  for  her  husband.  Things  were  getting 
themselves  into  unpleasant  complications,  and  she 
needed  Tom. 

There  was  a  certain  constraint  at  the  breakfast 
table.  Mr.  Fox  had  heard  the  serenades,  although  his 
consort  had  slept  soundly  through  the  turmoil;  and, 
while  carefully  avoiding  any  reference  to  the  incidents 
of  the  night,  he  was  anxiously  hoping  that  somebody 
would  say  something  about  them.  Mrs.  Easterfield 
saw  that  Mr.  Du  Brant  was  in  a  bad  humor,  and  she 
hoped  he  was  angry  enough  to  announce  his  early 
departure.  But  he  contented  himself  with  being 
angry,  and  said  nothing  about  going  away. 

Mr.  Hemphill  was  serious,  and  looked  often  in 
the  direction  of  Olive.  As  for  Dick  Lancaster,  Miss 
Raleigh,  whose  eye  was  fixed  upon  him  whenever  it 
could  be  spared  from  the  exigencies  of  her  meal,  de 
cided  that  if  there  should  be  a  fight  he  would  be  one 
of  the  fighters;  his  brow  Avas  dark  and  his  glance  was 
sharp ;  in  fact,  she  was  of  the  opinion  that  he  glared. 

200 


THE    CONFLICTING    SERENADES 

Claude  Locker  did  not  come  to  breakfast  until  nearly 
everybody  had  finished.  His  dreams  had  been  so 
pleasant  that  he  had  overslept  himself. 

In  the  eyes  of  Mrs.  Easterfield  Olive's  conduct  was 
positively  charming.  No  one  could  have  supposed 
that  during  the  night  she  had  heard  anything  louder 
than  the  ripple  of  the  river.  She  talked  more  to  Mr. 
Du  Brant  than  to  any  one  else,  although  she  managed 
to  draw  most  of  the  others  into  the  conversation ;  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  hostess,  who  gave  her  most 
good-humored  help,  the  talk  never  flagged,  although  it 
did  not  become  of  the  slightest  interest  to  any  one  who 
engaged  in  it.  They  were  all  thinking  about  the  con 
flict  of  serenades,  and  what  might  happen  next. 

Shortly  after  breakfast  Miss  Raleigh  came  to  Mrs. 
Easterfield.  "  Mr.  Du  Brant  is  with  her,"  she  said 
quickly,  ' '  and  they  are  walking  away.  Shall  I  inter 
polate?  " 

"  No,"  said  the  other  with  a  smile,  "  you  can  let 
them  alone.  Nothing  will  happen  this  morning,  un 
less,  indeed,  he  should  come  to  ask  for  a  carriage  to 
take  him  to  the  station. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  was  busy  in  her  garden  when  Dick 
Lancaster  came  to  her.  * '  What  a  wonderfully  deter 
mined  expression  you  have  !  ' '  said  she.  * '  You  look 
as  if  you  were  going  to  jump  on  a  street-car  without 
stopping  it !  ' ' 

"  You  are  right,"  said  he,  i:  I  arn  determined,  and 
I  came  to  tell  you  so.  I  can't  stand  this  sort  of  thing 
any  longer.  I  feel  like  a  child  who  is  told  he  must  eat 
at  the  second  table,  and  who  can  not  get  his  meals  until 
every  one  else  is  finished." 

201 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  And  I  suppose,"  she  said,  "  you  feel  there  will 
be  nothing  left  for  you. ' ' 

"  That  is  it,"  he  answered,  "  and  I  don't  want  to 
wait.  ]\Iy  soul  rebels !  I  can 't  stand  it !  ' : 

"  Therefore,"  she  said,  "  you  wish  to  appear  be 
fore  the  meal  is  ready,  and  in  that  case  you  will  get 
nothing. ' '  He  looked  at  her  inquiringly.  ' '  I  mean, ' ' 
said  she,  * '  that  if  you  propose  to  Miss  Asher  now  you 
will  be  before  your  time,  and  she  will  decline  your 
proposition  without  the  slightest  hesitation." 

'  I   do   not   quite  understand   that,"   said   Dick. 
"Would  she  decline  all  others?  " 
'  I  am  afraid  not. ' ' 

"  But  why  do  you  except  me?  "  asked  Dick. 
"  Surely  she  is  not  engaged.  I  know  you  would  tell 
me  at  once  if  that  were  so." 

"  It  is  not  so,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

"  Then  I  shall  take  my  chances.  With  all  this 
serenading  and  love-making  going  on  around  me  and 
around  the  woman  I  love  with  all  my  heart,  I  can  net 
stand  and  wait  until  I  am  told  my  time  has  come.  The 
intensity  and  the  ardor  of  my  feelings  for  her  give 
me  the  right  to  speak  to  her.  Unless  I  know  that  some 
one  else  has  stepped  in  before  me  and  taken  the  place 
I  crave,  I  have  decided  to  speak  to  her  just  as  soon  as 
I  can.  But  I  thought  it  was  due  to  you  to  come  first 
and  tell  you. ' ' 

:'  Mr.  Lancaster,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  speaking 
very  quietly,  "  if  you  decide  to  go  to  Miss  Asher  and 
ask  her  to  marry  you,  I  know  you  will  do  it,  for  I  be 
lieve  you  are  a  man  who  keeps  his  word  to  himself,  but 
I  assure  you  that  if  you  do  it  you  will  never  marry  her. 

202 


THE    CONFLICTING    SERENADES 

So  you  really  need  not  bother  yourself  about  going 
to  her;  you  can  simply  decide  to  do  it,  and  that 
will  be  quite  sufficient;  and  you  can  stay  here  and 
hold  these  long-stemmed  dahlias  for  me  as  I  cut 
them." 

A  troubled  wistfulness  showed  itself  upon  the 
young  man's  face.  "  You  speak  so  confidently/'  he 
said,  l  i  that  I  almost  feel  I  ought  to  believe  you.  Why 
do  you  tell  me  that  I  am  the  only  one  of  her  suit 
ors  who  would  certainly  be  rejected  if  he  offered 
himself  1  " 

Mrs.  Easterfield  dropped  the  long-stemmed  dahlias 
she  had  been  holding ;  and,  turning  her  eyes  full  upon 
Lancaster,  she  said,  "  Because  you  are  the  only  one  of 
them  toward  whom  she  has  no  predilections  whatever. 
More  than  that,  you  are  the  only  one  toward  whom 
she  has  a  positive  objection.  You  are  the  only  one  who 
is  an  intimate  friend  of  her  uncle,  and  who  would  be 
likely,  by  means  of  that  intimate  friendship,  to  bring 
her  into  connection  with  the  woman  she  hates,  as  well 
as  with  a  relative  she  despises  on  account  of  his  in 
tended  marriage  with  that  woman." 

"  All  that  should  not  count  at  all,"  cried  Dick. 
''  In  such  a  matter  as  this  I  have  nothing  to  do  with 
Captain  Asher !  I  stand  for  myself  and  speak  for  my 
self.  What  is  his  intended  wife  to  me1?  Or  what 
should  she  be  to  her  ?  ' : 

•"  Of  course,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "all  that 
would  not  count  at  all  if  Olive  Asher  loved  you.  But 
you  see  she  doesn  't.  I  have  had  it  from  her  own  lips 
that  her  uncle's  intended  marriage  is,  and  must  always 
be,  an  effectual  barrier  between  you  and  her. ' ' 

203 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

*  *  What !  ' '  cried  Dick.  ' '  Have  you  spoken  to  her 
of  me?  And  in  that  way?  " 

'  *  Yes, ' '  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  *  *  I  have.  I  did  not 
intend  to  tell  you,  but  you  have  forced  me  to  do  it. 
You  see,  she  is  a  young  woman  of  extraordinary  good 
sense.  She  believes  she  ought  to  marry,  and  she  is 
going  to  try  to  make  the  very  best  marriage  that  she 
possibly  can:  She  has  suitors  who  have  very  strong 
claims  upon  her  consideration — I  am  not  going  to  tell 
you  those  claims,  but  I  know  them.  Now,  you  have  no 
claim — special  claim,  I  mean — but  for  all  this,  I  be 
lieve,  as  I  have  told  you  before,  that  you  are  the  man 
she  ought  to  marry,  and  I  have  been  doing  everything 
I  can  to  make  her  cease  considering  them,  and  to  con 
sider  you.  And  this  is  the  way  she  came  to  give  me 
her  reasons  for  not  considering  you  at  all.  Now  the 
state  of  the  case  is  plain  before  you." 

Dick  bowed  his  head  and  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the 
dahlias  on  the  ground. 

"  Don't  tread  on  the  poor  things,"  she  said,  "  and 
don't  despair.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  let  me  put  a 
curbed  bit  on  you,  and  for  you  to  consent  to  wear  it  for 
a  little  while.  See, ' '  said  she,  moving  her  hands  in  the 
air,  as  if  they  were  engaged  upon  the  bridle  of  a  horse, 
'  *  I  fasten  this  chain  rather  closely,  and  buckle  the  ends 
of  the  reins  in  the  lowest  curb.  Now,  you  must  have  a 
steady  hand  and  a  resolute  will  until  the  time  comes 
when  the  curb  is  no  longer  needed." 

"  And  do  you  believe  that  time  will  come?  "  he 
asked. 

"  It  will  come,"  she  said,  "  when  two  things  hap 
pen;  when  she  has  reason  to  love  you,  and  has  no 

204 


THE    CONFLICTING    SERENADES 

reason  to  object  to  you ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  that  happy 
combination  may  arrive  if  you  act  sensibly. ' ' 

"  But— "  said  Dick. 

At  this  moment  a  quick  step  was  heard  on  the 
garden-path  and  they  both  turned.  It  was  Olive. 

' '  Mr.  Lancaster, ' '  she  cried,  ' '  I  want  you ;  that  is, 
if  Mrs.  Easterfield  can  spare  you.  We  are  making  up 
a  game  of  tennis.  Mr.  Du  Brant  and  Mr.  Hemphill 
are  there,  but  I  can  not  find  Mr.  Locker. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  could  spare  him,  and  Dick  Lan 
caster,  with  the  curbed  chain  pressing  him  very  hard, 
walked  away  with  Olive  Asher. 


205 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

The   Captain  and  Maria 

the  captain  drove  into  Glenford  on  the  day 
when  his  mind  had  been  so  much  disturbed  by  Dick 
Lancaster's  questions  regarding  a  marriage  between 
him  and  Maria  Port,  he  stopped  at  no  place  of  business, 
he  turned  not  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  but  went 
directly  to  the  house  of  his  old  friend  with  whom  he 
had  spent  the  night  before. 

Mr.  Simeon  Port  was  sitting  on  his  front  porch, 
reading  his  newspaper.  He  looked  up,  surprised  to 
see  the  captain  again  so  soon. 

* '  Simeon, ' '  said  the  captain, ' '  I  want  to  see  Maria. 
I  have  something  to  say  to  her. ' ' 

The  old  man  laid  down  his  newspaper.  "  Seri 
ous?  "  said  he. 

"  Yes,  serious,"  was  the  answer,  "  and  I  want  to 
see  her  now." 

Mr.  Port  reflected  for  a  moment.  ' '  Captain, ' '  said 
he,  "  do  you  believe  you  have  thought  about  this  as 
much  as  you  ought  to  ?  ' ' 

1 '  Yes,  I  have, ' '  replied  the  captain ;  "  I  've  thought 
just  as  much  as  I  ought  to.  Is  she  in  the  house  ?  ' ' 

Mr.  Port  did  not  answer.  "  Captain  John,"  said 
he  presently,  "  Maria  isn't  young,  that's  plain  enough, 

206 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    MARIA 

considerin '  my  age ;  but  she  never  does  seem  to  me  as 
if  she  'd  growed  up.  When  she  was  a  girl  she  had  ways 
of  her  own,  and  she  could  make  water  bile  quick,  and 
now  she  can  make  it  bile  just  as  quick  as  ever  she  did, 
and  perhaps  quicker.  She's  not  much  on  mindin'  the 
helm,  Captain  John,  and  there  're  other  things  about 
her  that  wouldn  't  be  attractive  to  husbands  when  they 
come  to  find  them  out.  And  if  I  was  you  I  'd  take  my 
time." 

"  That's  just  what  I  intend  to  do,"  said  the  cap 
tain.  "  This  is  my  time,  and  I  am  going  to  take  it." 

Miss  Port,  who  was  busy  in  the  back  part  of  the 
house,  heard  voices,  and  now  came  forward.  She  was 
wiping  her  hands  upon  her  apron,  and  one  of  them  she 
extended  to  the  captain. 

' '  I  am  glad  to  see  you — John, ' '  she  said,  speaking 
in  a  very  gentle  voice,  and  hesitating  a  little  at  the  last 
word. 

The  captain  looked  at  her  steadfastly,  and  then, 
without  taking  her  hand,  he  said :  "  I  want  to  speak  to 
you  by  yourself.  I  '11  go  into  the  parlor. ' ' 

She  politely  stepped  back  to  let  him  pass  her,  and 
then  her  father  turned  quickly  to  her. 

"  Did  you  expect  to  see  him  back  so  soon?  "  he 
asked. 

She  smiled  and  looked  down.  ' '  Oh,  yes, ' '  said  she, 
i '  I  was  sure  he  'd  come  back  very  soon. ' ' 

The  old  man  heaved  a  sigh,  and  returned  to  his 
paper. 

Maria  followed  the  captain.  "  John,"  said  she, 
speaking  in  a  low  voice,  "  wouldn't  you  rather  come 
into  the  dinin  '-room  ?  He 's  a  little  bit  hard  of  hearin ', 

207 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

but  if  you  don 't  want  him  to  hear  anything  he  '11  take 
in  every  word  of  it. ' ' 

"  Maria  Port,"  said  the  captain,  speaking  in  a 
strong,  upper-deck  voice,  *  *  what  I  have  to  say  I  '11  say 
here.  I  don't  want  the  people  in  the  street  to  hear 
me,  but  if  your  father  chooses  to  listen  I  would  rather 
he  did  it  than  not. ' ' 

She  looked  at  him  inquiringly.  "  Well,"  she  an 
swered,  '  *  I  suppose  he  will  have  to  hear  it  some  time  or 
other,  and  he  might  as  well  hear  it  now  as  not.  lie's 
all  I  've  got  in  the  world,  and  you  know  as  well  as  I  do 
that  I  run  to  tell  him  everything  that  happens  to  me 
as  soon  as  it  happens.  Will  you  sit  down  ?  ' 

* '  No, ' '  said  the  captain, ' '  I  can  speak  better  stand 
ing.  Maria  Port,  I  have  found  out  that  you  have  been 
trying  to  make  people  believe  that  I  am  engaged  to 
marry  you. ' ' 

The  smile  did  not  leave  Maria's  face.  il  Well, 
ain't  you?  "  said  she. 

A  look  of  blank  amazement  appeared  on  the  face  of 
the  captain,  but  it  was  quickly  succeeded  by  the  black 
ness  of  rage.  He  was  about  to  swear,  but  restrained 
himself. 

"  Engaged  to  you?  "  he  shouted,  forgetting  en 
tirely  the  people  in  the  street ;  "  I'd  rather  be  engaged 
to  a  fin-back  shark !  ' : 

The  smile  now  left  her  face.  ' '  Oh,  thank  you  very 
much,"  she  said.  "  And  this  is  what  you  meant  by 
your  years  of  devotion !  I  held  out  for  a  long  time, 
knowing  the  difference  in  our  ages  and  the  habits  of 
sailors,  and  now — just  when  I  make  up  my  mind  to 
give  in,  to  think  of  my  father  and  not  of  myself,  and 

208 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    MARIA 

to  sacrifice  my  feelin's  so  that  he  might  always  have 
one  of  his  old  friends  near  him,  now  that  he's  got  too 
feeble  to  go  out  by  himself,  and  at  his  age  you  know 
as  well  as  I  do  he  ought  to  have  somebody  near  him 
besides  me,  for  who  can  tell  what  may  happen,  or  how 
sudden — you  come  and  tell  me  you'd  rather  marry  a 
fish.  I  suppose  you've  got  somebody  else  in  your 
mind,  but  that  don't  make  no  difference  to  me.  I've 
got  no  fish  to  offer  you,  but  I  have  myself  that  you've 
wanted  so  long,  and  which  now  you  've  got. ' ' 

The  angry  captain  opened  his  mouth  to  speak ;  he 
was  about  to  ejaculate  Woman !  but  his  sense  of  pro 
priety  prevented  this.  He  would  not  apply  such  an 
epithet  to  any  one  in  the  house  of  a  friend.  Wretch 
rose  to  his  lips,  but  he  would  not  use  even  that  word ; 
and  he  contented  himself  with :  * '  You !  You  know 
just  as  well  as  you  know  you  are  standing  there  that 
I  never  had  the  least  idea  of  marrying  you.  You 
know,  too,  that  you  have  tried  to  make  people  think  I 
had,  people  here  in  town  and  people  out  at  my. house, 
where  you  came  over  and  over  again  pretending  to 
want  to  talk  about  your  father's  health,  when  it  did 
not  need  any  more  talking  about  than  yours  does.  You 
know  you  have  made  trouble  in  my  family ;  that  you 
so  disgusted  my  niece  that  she  would  not  stop  at  my 
house,  which  had  been  the  same  thing  as  her  home ;  you 
sickened  my  friends;  and  made  my  very  servants 
ashamed  of  me ;  and  all  this  because  you  want  to  marry 
a  man  who  now  despises  you.  I  would  have  despised 
you  long  ago  if  I  had  seen  through  your  tricks,  but  I 
didn't." 

There  was  a  smile  on  Miss  Port's  face  now,  but  it 
209 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

was  not  such  a  smile  as  that  with  which  she  had 
greeted  the  captain ;  it  Avas  a  diabolical  grin,  brightened 
by  malice.  ;<  You  are  perfectly  right,"  she  said; 
' '  everybody  knows  we  are  engaged  to  be  married,  and 
what  they  think  about  it  doesn  't  matter  to  me  the  snap 
of  my  finger.  The  people  in  town  all  know  it  and 
talk  about  it,  and  what's  more,  they've  talked  to  me 
about  it.  That  niece  of  your  'n  knows  it,  and  that 's  the 
reason  she  won 't  come  near  you,  and  I  'm  sure  I  'm  not 
sorry  for  that.  As  for  that  old  thing  that  helps  you  at 
the  toll-gate,  and  as  for  the  young  man  that 's  spongin ' 
on  you,  I've  no  doubt  they've  got  a  mighty  poor  opin 
ion  of  you.  And  I  've  no  doubt  they  're  right.  But  all 
that  matters  nothin '  to  me.  You  're  engaged  to  be  mar 
ried  to  me ;  you  know  it  yourself ;  and  everybody  knows 
it ;  and  what  you've  got  to  do  is  to  marry,  or  pay.  You 
hear  what  I  say,  and  you  know  what  I'm  goin'  to 
stick  to." 

It  may  be  well  for  Captain  Asher  's  reputation  that 
he  had  no  opportunity  to  answer  Miss  Port's  remarks. 
At  that  instant  Mr.  Simeon  Port  appeared  at  the  door 
which  opened  from  the  parlor  on  the  piazza.  He 
stepped  quickly,  his  actions  showing  nothing  of  that 
decrepitude  which  his  dutiful  daughter  had  feared 
would  prevent  him  from  seeking  the  society  of  his 
friends.  He  fixed  his  eyes  on  his  daughter  and  spoke 
in  a  loud,  strong  voice. 

'  *  Maria, ' '  said  he,  ' '  go  to  bed  !  I  've  heard  what 
you've  been  saying,  and  I'm  ashamed  of  you.  I've 
been  ashamed  of  you  before,  but  now  it's  worse  than 
ever.  Go  to  bed,  I  tell  you !  And  this  time,  go !  ' ' 

There  was  nothing  in  the  world  that  Maria  Port  was 
210 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    MARIA 

afraid  of  except  her  father,  and  of  him  personally  she 
had  not  the  slightest  dread.  But  of  his  dying  without 
leaving  her  the  whole  of  his  fortune  she  had  an  abiding 
terror,  which  often  kept  her  awake  at  night,  and  which 
sent  a  sickening  thrill  through  her  whenever  a  diffi 
culty  arose  between  her  and  her  parent.  She  was  quite 
sure  what  he  would  do  if  she  should  offend  him  suffi 
ciently;  he  would  leave  her  a  small  annuity,  enough 
to  support  her ;  and  the  rest  of  his  money  would  go  to 
several  institutions  which  she  had  heard  him  mention 
in  this  connection.  If  she  could  have  married  Captain 
Asher  she  would  have  felt  a  good  deal  safer ;  it  would 
have  taken  much  provocation  to  make  her  father  leave 
his  money  out  of  the  family  if  his  old  friend  had  been 
one  of  that  family. 

Now,  when  she  heard  her  father 's  voice,  and  saw  his 
dark  eyes  glittering  at  her,  she  knew  she  was  in  great 
danger,  and  the  well-known  chill  ran  through  her.  She 
made  no  answer ;  she  cared  not  who  was  present ;  she 
thought  of  nothing  but  that  those  eyes  must  cease  to 
glitter,  and  that  angry  voice  must  not  be  heard  again. 
She  turned  and  walked  to  her  room,  which  was  on  the 
same  floor,  across  the  hall. 

; '  And  mind  you  go  to  bed !  ' '  shouted  her  father. 
"  And  do  it  regular.  You're  not  to  make  believe  to 
go  to  bed,  and  then  get  up  and  walk  about  as  soon  as 
my  back  is  turned.  I'm  comin'  in  presently  to  see  if 
you've  obeyed  me." 

She  answered  not,  but  entered  her  room,  and  closed 
the  door  after  her. 

Mr.  Port  now  turned  to  the  captain.  "  I  never 
could  find  out, ' '  he  said,  ' i  where  Maria  got  that  mind 
16  211 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

of  her'n.  It  isn't  from  my  side,  for  my  father  and 
mother  was  as  good  people  as  ever  lived,  and  it  wasn't 
from  her  mother,  for  you  knew  her,  and  there  wasn't 
anything  of  the  kind  about  her. ' ' 

"  No,"  said  Captain  Asher,  "  not  the  least  bit 
of  it." 

'  It  must  have  been  from  her  grandmother  Ellis," 
said  the  old  man.  *  I  never  knew  her,  for  she  died 
before  I  was  acquainted  with  the  family,  but  I  expect 
she  died  of  deviltry.  That 's  the  only  insight  I  can  get 
into  the  reasons  for  Maria 's  havin '  the  mind  she 's  got. 
But  I  tell  you,  Captain  John,  you've  had  a  blessed 
escape!  I  didn't  know  she  was  in  the  habit  of  goin' 
out  to  your  house  so  often.  She  didn  't  tell  me  that. ' ' 

"  Simeon,"  said  the  captain,  "  I  think  I  will  go 
now.  I  have  had  enough  of  Maria.  I  don't  suppose 
I'll  hear  from  her  very  soon  again." 

The  old  man  smiled.  "  No,"  said  he,  "I  don't 
think  she  '11  want  to  trouble  you  any  more. ' ' 

Miss  Port,  whose  ear  wras  at  the  keyhole  of  her  door 
not  twelve  feet  away,  grinned  malignantly. 

Soon  after  Captain  Asher  had  gone  Mr.  Port 
walked  to  the  door  of  his  daughter 's  room,  gave  a  little 
knock,  and  then  opened  the  door  a  little. 

"  You  are  in  bed,  are  you?  "  said  he.  "  Well, 
that 's  good  for  you.  Turn  down  that  coverlid  and  let 
me  see  if  you've  got  your  nightclothes  on."  She 
obeyed.  ' '  Very  well, ' '  he  continued ;  '  *  now  you  stay 
there  until  I  tell  you  to  get  up." 

Captain  Asher  went  home,  still  in  a  very  bad 
humor.  He  had  ceased  to  be  angry  with  Maria  Port, 
he  was  done  with  her ;  and  he  let  her  pass  out  of  his 

212 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    MARIA 

mind.  But  he  was  angry  with  other  people,  especially 
with  Olive.  She  had  allowed  herself  to  have  a  most 
contemptuous  opinion  of  him ;  she  had  treated  him 
shamefully ;  and  as  he  thought  of  her  his  indignation 
increased  instead  of  diminishing.  And  young  Lan 
caster  had  believed  it !  And  old  Jane !  It  was  enough 
to  make  a  stone  slab  angry,  and  the  captain  was  not  a 
stone  slab. 


213 


CHAPTER    XXIV 
Mr.  Tom  arrives  at  Broadstone 

AFTER  the  conclusion  of  the  game  of  tennis  in 
which  Olive  and  three  of  her  lovers  participated, 
Claude  Locker,  returning  from  a  long  walk,  entered  the 
grounds  of  Broadstone.  He  had  absented  himself 
from  that  hospitable  domain  for  purposes  of  reflection, 
and  also  to  avoid  the  company  of  Mr.  Du  Brant.  Not 
that  he  was  afraid  of  the  diplomat,  but  because  of  the 
important  interview  appointed  for  the  latter  part  of 
the  morning.  He  very  much  wished  that  no  unpleas 
antness  of  any  kind  should  occur  before  the  time  for 
that  interview. 

Having  found  that  he  had  given  himself  more  time 
than  was  necessary  for  his  reflections  and  his  walk, 
he  had  rested  in  the  shade  of  a  tree  and  had  written 
two  poems.  One  of  these  was  the  serenade  which  he 
would  have  roared  out  on  the  night  air  on  a  very  recent 
occasion  if  he  had  had  time  to  prepare  it.  It  wras,  in 
his  opinion,  far  superior  to  the  impromptu  verses  of 
which  he  had  been  obliged  to  make  use,  and  it  pleased 
him  to  think  that  if  things  should  go  well  with  him 
after  the  interview  to  which  he  was  looking  forward, 
he  would  read  that  serenade  to  its  object,  and  ask  her 
to  substitute  it  in  her  memory  for  the  inharmonic  lines 

214 


TOM    ARRIVES    AT    BROADSTONE 

which  he  had  used  in  order  to  smother  the  degenerate 
melody  of  a  foreign  lay.  The  other  poem  was  intended 
for  use  in  case  his  interview  should  not  be  successful. 
But  on  the  way  home  Mr.  Locker  experienced  an  entire 
change  of  mind.  He  came  to  believe  that  it  would  be 
unwise  for  him  to  arrange  to  use  either  of  those  poems 
on  that  day.  For  all  he  knew,  Miss  Asher  might  like 
foreign  degenerate  lays,  and  she  might  be  annoyed 
that  he  had  interfered  with  one.  He  remembered  that 
she  had  told  him  that  if  he  had  insisted  on  an  imme 
diate  answer  to  his  proposition  it  would  have  been  very 
easy  to  give  it  to  him.  He  realized  what  that  meant ; 
and,  for  all  he  knew,  she  might  be  quite  as  ready  this 
morning  to  act  with  similar  promptness.  That  Du 
Brant  business  might  have  settled  her  mind,  and  it 
would  therefore  be  very  well  for  him  to  be  careful 
about  what  he  did,  and  what  he  asked  for. 

About  half  an  hour  before  luncheon,  when  he 
neared  the  house  and  perceived  Miss  Asher  on  the  lawn, 
it  seemed  to  him  very  much  as  if  she  were  looking 
for  him.  This  he  did  not  like,  and  he  hurried  toward 
her. 

"  Miss  Asher,"  said  he,  "I  wish  to  propose  an 
amendment. ' ' 

"  To  what?  "  asked  Olive.  "  But  first  tell  me 
where  you  have  been  and  what  you  have  been  doing? 
You  are  covered  with  dust,  and  look  as  hot  as  if  you 
had  been  pulling  the  boat  against  the  rapids.  I  have 
not  seen  you  the  whole  morning. ' ' 

"  I  have  been  walking,"  said  he,  "  and  thinking. 
It  is  dreadful  hot  work  to  think.  That  should  be  done 
only  in  winter  weather. ' ' 

215 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  It  would  be  a  woful  thing  to  take  a  cold  on  the 
mind,"  said  Olive. 

"  That  is  so  !  "  he  replied.  "  That  is  exactly  what 
I  am  afraid  of  this  morning,  and  that  is  the  reason  I 
want  to  propose  my  amendment.  I  beg  most  earnestly 
that  you  will  not  make  this  interview  definitive.  I 
am  afraid  if  you  do  I  may  get  chills  in  my  mind, 
soul,  and  heart  from  which  I  shall  never  recover.  I 
have  an  idea  that  the  weather  may  not  be  as  favor 
able  as  it  was  yesterday  for  the  unveiling  of  tender 
emotions. ' ' 

"  Why  sot  "asked  Olive. 

' '  There  are  several  reasons, ' '  returned  Mr.  Locker. 
"  For  one  thing,  that  musical  uproar  last  night.  I 
have  not  heard  anything  about  that,  and  I  don 't  know 
where  I  stand." 

Olive  laughed.  "  It  was  splendid,"  said  she.  "  I 
liked  you  a  great  deal  better  after  that  than  I  did  be 
fore." 

"  Now  tell  me,"  he  exclaimed  hurriedly,  "  and 
please  lose  no  time,  for  here  comes  a  surrey  from  the 
station  with  a  gentleman  in  it — do  you  like  me  enough 
better  to  give  me  a  favorable  answer,  now,  right 
here?  " 

"  No,"  said  Olive.  "  I  do  not  feel  warranted  in 
being  so  precipitate  as  that." 

"  Then  please  say  nothing  on  the  subject,"  said 
Locker.  ' '  Please  let  us  drop  the  whole  matter  for  to 
day.  And  may  I  assume  that  I  am  at  liberty  to  take  it 
up  again  to-morrow  at  this  hour?  " 

"  You  may,"  said  Olive.  "  What  gentleman  is 
that,  do  you  suppose?  " 

216 


TOM    ARRIVES    AT    BROADSTONE 

"  I  know  him,"  said  Locker,  "  and,  fortunately, 
he  is  married.  He  is  Mr.  Easterfield. ' ' 

"  Here's  papa!  Here's  papa!  "  shouted  the  two 
little  girls  as  they  ran  out  of  the  front  door. 

"  And  papa,"  said  the  oldest  one,  "  we  want  you 
to  tell  us  a  story  just  as  soon  as  you  have  brushed  your 
hair!  Mr.  Rupert  has  been  telling  us  stories,  but 
yours  are  a  great  deal  better." 

' i  Yes, ' '  said  the  other  little  girl, ' '  he  makes  all  the 
children  too  good.  They  can't  be  good,  you  know, 
and  there's  no  use  trying.  We  told  him  so,  but  he 
doesn't  mind." 

There  was  story-telling  after  luncheon,  but  the 
papa  did  not  tell  them,  and  the  children  were  sent 
away.  It  was  Mrs.  Easterfield  who  told  the  stories, 
and  Mr.  Tom  was  a  most  interested  listener. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  when  she  had  finished,  "  this 
seems  to  be  a  somewhat  tangled  state  of  affairs. ' ' 

"  It  certainly  is,"  she  replied,  "  and  I  tangled 
them." 

"  And  you  expect  me  to  straighten  them!  "  he 
asked. 

"  Of  course  I  do,"  she  replied,  "  and  I  expect  you 
to  begin  by  sending  Mr.  Hemphill  away.  You  know 
I  could  not  do  it,  but  I  should  think  it  would  be  easy 
for  you. ' ' 

' '  Would  you  object  if  I  lighted  a  cigar  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Of  course  not,"  she  said.  "  Did  you  ever  hear 
me  object  to  anything  of  the  kind  ?  ' : 

11  No,"  said  he,  "  but  I  never  have  smoked  in  this 
room,  and  I  thought  perhaps  Miss  Raleigh  might  ob 
ject  when  she  came  in  to  do  your  writing. ' ' 

217 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

11  My  writing!  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easterfield. 
"  Now  don't  trifle!  This  is  no  time  to  make  fun  of 
me.  Olive  may  be  accepting  him  this  minute." 

11  It  seems  to  me,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield,  slowly 
puffing  his  cigar, ' '  that  it  would  not  be  such  a  very  bad 
thing  if  she  did.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  judge,  he 
is  my  favorite  of  the  claimants.  Du  Brant  and  I  have 
met  frequently,  and  if  I  were  a  girl  I  would  not  want 
to  marry  him.  Locker  is  too  little  for  Miss  Asher,  and, 
besides,  he  is  too  flighty.  Your  young  professor  may 
be  good  enough,  but  from  my  limited  conversation 
with  him  at  the  table  I  could  not  form  much  of  an 
opinion  as  to  him  one  way  or  another.  I  have  an 
opinion  of  Hemphill,  and  a  very  good  one.  He  is 
a  first-class  young  man,  a  rising  one  with  prospects, 
and,  more  than  that,  I  think  he  is  the  best-looking 
of  the  lot." 

"  Tom,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  do  you  suppose  I 
sent  for  you  to  talk  such  nonsense  as  that  1  Can  you 
imagine  that  my  sense  of  honor  toward  Olive 's  parents 
would  allow  me  even  to  consider  a  marriage  between  a 
high-class  girl,  such  as  she  is — high-class  in  every  way 
— to  a  mere  commonplace  private  secretary?  I  don't 
care  what  his  attributes  and  merits  are ;  he  is  common 
place  to  the  backbone ;  and  he  is  impossible.  If  what 
ought  to  be  a  brilliant  career  ends  suddenly  in  Rupert 
Hemphill  I  shall  have  Olive  on  my  conscience  for  the 
rest  of  my  life. ' ' 

"That  settles  it,"  said  Mr.  Tom  Easterfield; 
11  your  conscience,  my  dear,  has  not  been  trained  to 
carry  loads,  and  I  shall  not  help  to  put  one  on  it. 
Hemphill  is  a  good  man,  but  we  must  rule  him  out. ' ' 

218 


TOM    ARRIVES    AT    BROADSTONE 

' '  Yes, ' '  said  she,  ' '  Olive  is  a  great  deal  more  than 


J  7 


good.    He  must  be  ruled  out. 

* '  But  I  can 't  send  him  away  this  afternoon, ' '  Tom 
continued.  '  *  That  would  put  them  both  on  their  met 
tle,  and,  ten  to  one,  he  would  considerately  announce 
his  engagement  before  he  left. ' ' 

* '  No, ' '  said  she.  ' '  Olive  is  very  sharp,  and  would 
resent  that.  But  now  that  you  are  here  I  feel  safe 
from  any  immediate  rashness  on  their  part. ' ' 

' '  You  are  right, ' '  said  Mr.  Tom.  ' '  My  very  com 
ing  will  give  them  pause.  And  now  I  want  to  see  the 
girl." 

14  What  for?  "  asked  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

'  *  I  want  to  get  acquainted  with  her.  I  don 't  know 
her  yet,  and  I  can't  talk  to  her  if  I  don't  know  her." 

: '  Are  you  going  to  talk  to  her  about  Hemphill  ?  ' 3 

*  Yes,  for  one  thing, ' '  he  answered. 

*  Well,"  said  she,  "  you  will  have  to  be  very  cir 
cumspect.    She  is  both  alert,  and  sensitive." 

"  Oh,  I'll  be  circumspect  enough,"  he  replied. 
' '  You  may  trust  me  for  that. ' ' 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  Mrs.  Easterfield, 
being  engaged  in  some  hospitable  duties,  sent  Olive  to 
show  Mr.  Tom  the  garden,  and  it  was  rather  a  slight 
to  that  abode  of  beauty  that  the  tour  of  the  rose-lined 
paths  occupied  but  a  very  few  minutes,  when  Mr.  Eas 
terfield  became  tired,  and  desired  to  sit  down.  Having 
seated  themselves  on  Mrs.  Easterfield 's  favorite  bench, 
Olive  looked  up  at  her  companion,  and  asked  : 

"  Well,  sir,  what  is  it  you  brought  me  here  to  say 
tome?  " 

Mr.  Tom  laughed,  and  so  did  she. 
219 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  If  it  is  anything  about  the  gentlemen  who  are 
paying  their  addresses  to  me,  you  may  as  well  begin  at 
once,  for  that  will  save  time,  and  really  an  introduction 
is  not  necessary. ' ' 

Mr.  Easterfield's  admiration  for  this  young  lady, 
which  had  been  steadily  growing,  was  not  decreased  by 
this  remark.  "  This  girl,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  de 
serves  a  nimble-witted  husband.  Hemphill  would 
never  do  for  her.  It  seems  to  me,"  he  said  aloud, 
"  that  we  are  already  well  enough  acquainted  for  me 
to  proceed  with  the  remarks  which  you  have  correctly 
assumed  I  came  here  to  make. ' ' 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  "  I  have  always  thought  that 
some  people  are  born  to  become  acquainted,  and  when 
they  meet  they  instantly  perceive  the  fact,  and  the 
thing  is  accomplished.  They  can  then  proceed." 

* '  Very  well, ' '  said  he,  ' '  we  will  proceed. ' ' 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Olive,  "  that  Mrs.  Easterfield 
has  explained  everything,  and  that  you  agree  with  her 
and  with  me  that  it  is  a  sensible  thing  for  a  girl  in  my 
position  to  marry,  and,  having  no  one  to  attend  wisely 
to  such  a  matter  for  me,  that  I  should  endeavor  to  at 
tend  to  it  myself  as  wisely  as  I  can.  Also,  that  a  little 
bit  of  pique,  caused  by  the  fact  that  I  am  to  have  an 
old  schoolfellow  for  a  stepmother,  is  excusable. ' ' 

li  And  it  is  this  pique  which  puts  you  in  such  a 
hurry?  I  did  not  exactly  understand  that." 

"  Yes,  it  does,"  said  she.  "  I  very  much  wish  to 
announce  my  own  engagement,  if  not  my  marriage, 
before  any  arrangements  shall  be  made  which  may 
include  me.  Do  you  think  me  wrong  in  this1?  ': 

"  No,  I  don't,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield.  "  If  I  were 
220 


TOM    ARRIVES    AT    BROADSTONE 

a  girl  in  your  place  I  think  I  would  do  the  same  thing 
myself. ' ' 

Olive's  face  expressed  her  gratitude.  "And  now," 
said  she,  "  what  do  you  think  of  the  young  men?  I 
feel  so  well  acquainted  with  you  through  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  that  I  shall  give  a  great  deal  of  weight  to  your 
opinion.  But  first  let  me  ask  you  one  thing :  After 
what  you  have  heard  of  me  do  you  think  I  am  a 
flirt?  " 

Mr.  Tom  knitted  his  brows  a  little,  then  he  smiled, 
and  then  he  looked  out  over  the  flower-beds  without 
saying  anything. 

' '  Don 't  be  afraid  to  say  so  if  you  think  so, ' '  said 
she.  "  You  must  be  perfectly  plain  and  frank  with 
me,  or  our  acquaintanceship  will  wither  away. ' ' 

Under  the  influence  of  this  threat  he  spoke. 
"  Well,"  said  he,  "I  should  not  feel  warranted  in 
calling  you  a  flirt,  but  it  does  seem  to  me  that  you  have 
been  flirting." 

'  I  think  you  are  wrong,  Mr.  Easterfield, "  said 
Olive,  speaking  very  gravely.  "  I  never  saw  any  one 
of  these  young  men  before  I  came  here  except  Mr. 
Hemphill,  and  he  was  an  entirely  different  person 
when  I  knew  him  before,  and  I  have  given  no  one  of 
them  any  special  encouragement.  If  Mr.  Locker  were 
not  such  an  impetuous  young  man,  I  think  the  others 
would  have  been  more  deliberate,  but  as  it  was  easy  to 
see  the  state  of  his  mind,  and  as  we  are  all  making  but  a 
temporary  stay  here,  these  other  young  men  saw  that 
they  must  act  quickty,  or  not  at  all.  This,  while  it  was 
very  amusing,  was  also  a  little  annoying,  and  I  should 
greatly  have  preferred  slower  and  more  deliberate 

221 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

movements  on  the  part  of  these  young  men.  But  all 
my  feelings  changed  when  my  father's  letter  came  to 
me.  I  was  glad  then  that  they  had  proposed  already. ' ' 

* '  That  is  certainly  honest, ' '  said  Mr.  Tom. 

"  Of  course  it  is  honest,"  replied  Olive.  "  I  am 
here  to  speak  honestly  if  I  speak  at  all.  Now,  don't 
you  see  that  if  under  these  peculiar  circumstances  one 
eligible  young  man  had  proposed  to  me  I  ought  to  have 
considered  myself  fortunate?  Now  here  are  three  to 
choose  from.  Do  you  not  agree  with  me  that  it  is 
my  duty  to  try  to  choose  the  best  one  of  them,  and 
not  to  discourage  any  until  I  feel  very  certain  about  my 
choice?  " 

"  That  is  business-like,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield; 
' '  but  do  you  love  any  one  of  them  ?  ' : 

' '  No,  I  don 't, ' '  answered  Olive,  * '  except  that  there 
is  a  feeling  in  that  direction  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Hemp- 
hill.  I  suppose  Mrs.  Easterfield  has  told  you  that 
when  I  was  a  schoolgirl  I  was  deeply  in  love  with  him ; 
and  now,  when  I  think  of  those  old  times,  I  believe  it 
would  not  be  impossible  for  those  old  sentiments  to 
return.  So  there  really  is  a  tie  between  him  and  me; 
even  though  it  be  a  slight  one;  which  does  not  exist 
at  all  between  me  and  any  one  of  the  others." 

For  a  moment  neither  of  them  spoke.  "  That  is 
very  bad,  young  woman,"  thought  Mr.  Tom.  "  A 
slight  tie  like  that  is  apt  to  grow  thick  and  strong  sud 
denly.  ' '  But  he  could  not  discourse  about  Mr.  Hemp- 
hill  ;  he  knew  that  would  be  very  dangerous.  He  would 
have  to  be  considered,  however,  and  much  more  seri 
ously  than  he  had  supposed. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  will  tell  you  this:  if  I  were 
222 


TOM    ARRIVES    AT    BROADSTONE 

a  young  man,  unmarried,  and  on  a  visit  to  Broadstone 
at  this  time,  I  should  not  like  to  be  treated  as  you  are 
treating  the  young  men  who  are  here.  It  is  all  very 
well  for  a  young  woman  to  look  after  herself  and  her 
own  .interests,  but  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  have  my 
fate  depend  upon  the  merits  of  other  people.  I  may 
not  be  correct,  but  I  am  afraid  I  should  feel  I  was 
being  flirted  with." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Olive,  giving  a  quick,  forward 
motion  on  the  bench,  '  *  you  think  I  ought  to  settle  this 
matter  immediately,  and  relieve  myself  at  once  from 
the  imputation  of  trifling  with  earnest  affection?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  no,  no  !  "  cried  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  Not  at 
all!  Don't  do  anything  rash!  " 

Olive  leaned  back  on  the  bench,  and  laughed  heart 
ily.  "  There  is  so  much  excellent  advice  in  this 
world,"  she  said,  "  which  is  not  intended  to  be  used. 
However,  it  is  valuable  all  the  same.  And  now,  sir, 
what  is  it  you  would  like  me  to  do  ?  Something  plain ; 
intended  for  every-day  use. ' ' 

Mr.  Tom  leaned  forward,  his  elbows  on  his  knees. 
'  *  It  does  not  appear  to  me, ' '  he  said,  * '  that  you  have 
told  me  very  much  I  did  not  know  before,  for  Mrs. 
Easterfield  put  the  matter  very  plainly  before  me." 

' '  And  it  does  not  seem  to  me, ' '  said  Olive,  ' '  that 
you  have  given  me  any  definite  counsel,  and  I  know 
that  is  what  you  came  here  to  do. " 

1  i  You  are  mistaken  there, ' '  he  said.  ' '  I  came  here 
to  find  out  what  sort  of  a  girl  you  are;  my  counsels 
must  depend  on  my  discoveries.  But  there  is  one  thing 
I  want  to  ask  you ;  you  are  all  the  time  talking  about 
three  young  men.  Now,  there  are  four  of  them  here. ' ' 

223 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  Yes,"  she  answered  quickly.  "  But  only  three 
of  them  have  proposed ;  and,  besides,  if  the  other  were 
to  do  so,  he  would  have  to  be  set  aside  for  what  I  may 
call  family  reasons.  I  don't  want  to  go  into  particu 
lars  because  the  subject  is  very  painful  to  me." 

For  a  moment  Mr.  Tom  did  not  speak.  Then,  de 
termined  to  go  through  with  what  he  had  come  to  do, 
which  was  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  this  girl, 
he  said:  "  I  do  not  wish  to  discuss  anything  that  is 
painful  to  you,  but  Mrs.  Easterfield  and  I  are  very 
much  disturbed  for  fear  that  in  some  way  your  visit 
to  Broadstone  created  some  misunderstanding  or  dis 
agreeable  feeling  between  you  and  your  uncle.  Now, 
would  you  mind  telling  me  whether  this  is  so,  or  not  ?  " 

She  looked  at  him  steadily.  '  *  There  is  an  unpleas 
ant  feeling  between  me  and  my  uncle,  but  this  visit  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  And  I  am  going  to  tell  you  all 
about  it.  I  hate  to  feel  so  much  alone  in  the  world 
that  I  can 't  talk  to  anybody  about  what  makes  me  un 
happy.  I  might  have  spoken  to  Mrs.  Easterfield,  but 
she  didn't  ask  me.  But  you  have  asked  me,  and  that 
makes  me  feel  that  I  am  really  better  acquainted  with 
you  than  with  her. ' ' 

This  remark  pleased  Mr.  Tom,  but  he  did  not  think 
it  would  be  necessary  to  put  it  into  his  report  to  his 
wife.  He  had  promised  to  be  very  circumspect ;  and 
circumspection  should  act  in  every  direction. 

"  It  is  very  hard  for  a  girl  such  as  I  am, ' '  she  con 
tinued,  "  to  be  alone  in  the  world,  and  that  is  a  very 
good  reason  for  getting  married  as  soon  as  I  can." 

"  And  for  being  very  careful  whom  you  marry," 
interrupted  Mr.  Easterfield. 

224 


TOM    ARRIVES    AT    BROADSTONE 

"  Of  course,"  said  she,  "  and  I  am  trying  very 
hard  to  be  that.  A  little  while  ago  I  had  a  father  with 
whom  I  expected  to  live  and  be  happy,  but  that  dream 
is  over  now.  And  then  I  thought  I  had  an  uncle  who 
was  going  to  be  more  of  a  father  to  me  than  my  own 
father  had  ever  been.  But  that  dream  is  over,  too." 

' '  And  why  1  ' '  asked  Mr.  Easterfield. 

11  He  is  going  to  marry  a  woman,"  said  Olive, 
"  that  is  perfectly  horrible,  and  with  whom  I  could 
not  live.  And  the  worst  of  it  all  is  that  he  never  told 
ine  a  word  about  it. ' ' 

As  she  said  this  Olive  looked  very  solemn;  and 
Mr.  Tom,  not  knowing  on  the  instant  what  would  be 
proper  to  say,  looked  solemn  also. 

"  You  may  think  it  strange,"  said  she,  "  that  I 
talk  in  this  way  to  you,  but  you  came  here  to  find  out 
Avhat  sort  of  girl  I  am,  and  I  am  perfectly  willing  to 
help  you  do  it.  Besides,  in  a  case  like  this,  I  would 
rather  talk  to  a  man  than  to  a  woman." 

Mr.  Tom  believed  her,  but  he  did  not  know  at  this 
stage  of  the  proceedings  what  it  would  be  wise  to  say. 
He  was  also  fully  aware  that  if  he  said  the  wrong 
thing  it  would  be  very  bad,  indeed. 

"  Now,  you  see,"  said  she,  "  there  is  another  rea 
son  why  I  should  marry  as  soon  as  possible.  In  my 
case  most  girls  would  take  up  some  pursuit  which 
would  make  them  independent,  but  I  don't  like  busi 
ness.  I  want  to  be  at  the  head  of  a  household;  and, 
what  is  more,  I  want  to  have  something  to  do — I  mean 
a  great  deal  to  do — with  the  selection  of  a  husband. ' ' 

The  conversation  was  taking  a  direction  which 
frightened  Mr.  Tom.  In  the  next  moment  she  might 

225 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

be  asking  advice  about  the  choice  of  a  husband.  It 
was  plain  enough  that  love  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
matter,  and  Mr.  Tom  did  not  wish  to  act  the  part  of 
a  practical-minded  Cupid.  "  And  now  let  me  ask  a 
favor  of  you, ' '  said  he.  '  *  Won 't  you  give  me  time  to 
think  over  this  matter  a  little  ?  ' ! 

'  That  is  exactly  what  I  say  to  my  suitors,"  said 
Olive,  smiling. 

Mr.  Tom  smiled  also.  ' '  But  won 't  you  promise  me 
not  to  do  anything  definite  until  I  see  you  again?  " 
he  asked  earnestly. 

"  That  is  not  very  unlike  what  some  of  my  suitors 
say  to  me,"  she  replied.  "  But  I  wrill  promise  you 
that  when  you  see  me  again  I  shall  still  be  heart-free. ' ' 
'  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  that, ' '  Mr.  Tom  said  to 
himself  as  they  arose  to  leave  the  garden.  "  And,  my 
young  woman,  you  may  deny  being  a  flirt,  but  you 
permitted  the  addresses  of  two  young  men  before  you 
were  upset  by  your  father's  letter.  But  I  think  I  like 
flirts.  At  any  rate,  I  can  not  help  liking  her,  and  I 
believe  she  has  got  a  heart  somewhere,  and  will  find  it 
some  day." 

When  Mr.  Tom  returned  to  the  house  he  did  not 
find  his  wife,  for  that  lady  was  occupied  somewhere  in 
entertaining  her  guests.  Now,  although  it  might  have 
been  considered  his  duty  to  go  and  help  her  in  her 
hospitable  work,  he  very  much  preferred  to  attend  to 
the  business  which  she  had  sent  for  him  to  do.  And 
walking  to  the  stables,  he  was  soon  mounted  on  a  good 
horse,  and  riding  away  southward  on  the  smooth  gray 
turnpike. 

226 


CHAPTER    XXV 

The  Captain  and  Mr.  Tom 

CAPTAIN  ASHER  was  standing  at  the  door  of  the 
tollhouse  when  he  saw  Mr.  Easterfield  approaching. 
He  recognized  him,  although  he  had  had  but  one  brief 
interview  with  him  one  day  at  the  toll-gate  some  time 
before.  Mr.  Easterfield  was  a  man  absorbed  in  busi 
ness,  and  the  first  summer  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  at 
Broadstone  he  was  in  Europe  engaged  in  large  and  im 
portant  affairs,  and  had  not  been  at  the  summer  home 
at  all.  And  so  far  this  summer,  he  had  been  there  but 
once  before,  and  then  for  only  a  couple  of  days.  Now, 
as  the  captain  saw  the  gentleman  coming  toward  the 
toll-gate  he  had  no  reason  for  supposing  that  he  would 
not  go  through  it.  Nevertheless,  his  mind  was  dis 
turbed.  Any  one  coming  from  Broadstone  disturbed 
his  mind.  He  had  not  quite  decided  whether  or  not 
to  ask  any  questions  concerning  the  late  members  of 
his  household,  when  the  horseman  stopped  at  the  gate, 
and  handed  him  the  toll. 

"  Good  morning,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield 
cheerily,  for  he  had  heard  much  in  praise  of  the  toll- 
gate  keeper  from  his  wife. 

"  Good  morning,  Mr.  Easterfield,"  said  the  captain 
gravely. 

17  227 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  I  am  glad  I  do  not  have  to  introduce  myself," 
said  Mr.  Easterfield,  "  for  I  am  only  going  through 
your  gate  as  far  as  that  tree  to  tie  my  horse.  Then, 
if  convenient  to  you,  I  should  like  to  have  a  little  talk 
with  you." 

The  captain 's  mind,  which  had  been  relieved  when 
Mr.  Easterfield  paid  his  toll,  now  sank  again.  But  he 
could  not  say  a  talk  would  be  inconvenient.  "  If  I 
had  known  that  you  were  not  going  on,"  he  said, 
"  you  need  not  have  paid." 

"  Like  most  people  in  this  life,"  said  Mr.  Easter 
field,  "  I  pay  for  what  I  have  already  done,  and  not 
for  what  I  am  going  to  do.  And  now  have  you  leisure, 
sir,  for  a  short  conversation  ?  ' ; 

The  captain  looked  very  glum.  He  felt  not  the 
slightest  desire  now  to  ask  questions,  and  still  less  de 
sire  to  be  interrogated.  However,  he  was  not  afraid 
of  anything  any  one  might  say  to  him ;  and  if  a  certain 
subject  was  broached,  he  had  something  to  say  himself. 

"  Yes,"  said  he;  "  do  you  prefer  indoors  or  out 
of  doors?  >: 

"  Out  of  doors,  if  it  suits,"  replied  the  visitor, 
'  '  for  I  would  like  to  take  a  smoke. ' ' 

"  I  am  with  you  there,"  said  the  captain,  as  he 
led  the  way  to  the  little  arbor. 

Here  Mr.  Easterfield  lighted  a  cigar,  and  the  cap 
tain  a  pipe. 

11  Now,  sir,"  said  the  latter,  when  the  tobacco  in 
his  bowl  was  in  a  satisfactory  glow,  "  what  is  it  you 
want  to  talk  about  ?  ' :  He  spoke  as  if  he  were  behind 
entrenchments,  and  ready  for  an  attack. 

' '  We  have  two  of  your  guests  with  us, ' '  answered 
228 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    MR.    TOM 

Mr.  Easterfield,  "  Professor  Lancaster,  and  your 
niece. ' ' 

"  Oh,"  said  the  captain,  evidently  relieved.  "  I 
thought  perhaps  you  had  come  to  ask  questions 
about  some  reports  you  may  have  heard  in  regard 
to  me." 

"  Not  at  all,  not  at  all,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield.  "  I 
would  not  think  of  mentioning  your  private  affairs, 
about  which  I  have  not  the  slightest  right  or  wish  to 
speak.  But  as  we  have  apparently  appropriated  two 
of  your  young  people,  I  think,  and  Mrs.  Easterfield 
agrees  with  me,  that  it  is  but  right  you  should  be 
informed  as  to  their  health,  and  what  they  are 
doing. ' ' 

The  captain  puffed  vigorously.  "  When  is  Dick 
Lancaster  coming  back  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  can't  say  anything  about  that,"  replied  Mr. 
Easterfield,  "  for  I  am  not  master  of  ceremonies.  We 
would  like  to  keep  him  as  long  as  we  can,  but,  of 
course,  your  claims  must  be  considered." 

c '  I  should  think  so, ' '  remarked  the  captain. 

"  Professor  Lancaster  is  a  remarkably  fine  young 
man, ' '  said  the  other,  ' '  and  as  he  is  a  friend  of  yours, 
and  as  I  should  like  him  to  be  a  friend  of  mine,  it  would 
give  me  pleasure  to  talk  to  you  more  about  him.  But 
I  may  as  well  confess  that  my  real  object  in  coming 
here  is  to  talk  about  your  niece.  Of  course,  as  I  said 
before,  it  might  appear  that  I  have  no  right  to  meddle 
with  your  family  affairs,  but  in  this  case  I  certainly 
think  I  am  justified;  for,  as  Mrs.  Easterfield  invited 
the  young  lady  to  leave  you  and  to  come  to  her,  and  as 
all  that  has  happened  to  her  has  happened  at  our 

229 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

house,  and  in  consequence  of  that  invitation,  I  think 
that  you,  as  her  nearest  accessible  relative,  should  be 
told  of  what  has  occurred." 

The  captain  made  no  answer,  but  gazed  steadily 
into  the  face  of  the  speaker. 

"  Therefore,"  continued  Mr.  Easterfield,  "  I  will 
simply  state  that  my  wife  and  I  have  very  good  reason 
to  believe  that  your  niece  is  about  to  engage  herself  in 
marriage ;  and  I  will  only  add  that  we  are  very  sorry, 
indeed,  that  this  should  have  occurred  under  our 
roof." 

A  sudden  and  curious  change  came  over  the  face 
of  the  captain ;  a  light  sparkled  in  his  eye,  and  a  faint 
flush,  as  if  of  pleasure,  was  visible  under  his  swarthy 
skin.  He  leaned  toward  his  companion. 

"  Is  it  Dick  Lancaster1?  "  he  asked  quickly. 

Mr.  Easterfield  answered  gravely :  "  I  wish  it  were, 
but  I  am  very  sorry  to  say  it  is  not. ' ' 

The  light  went  out  of  the  captain 's  eye.  He  leaned 
back  on  his  bench  and  the  little  flush  in  his  cheeks  was 
succeeded  by  a  somber  coldness.  "  Very  good,"  said 
he;  "I  don't  want  to  hear  anything  more  about  it, 
and,  what  is  more,  it  would  not  be  right  for  you  to 
tell  me,  even  if  I  did  want  to  know.  It  is  none  of 
my  business." 

"  Now,  really,  Captain  Asher,"  began  Mr.  Easter 
field. 

1  No,  sir, ' '  the  captain  interrupted.  ' l  It  is  none  of 
my  business,  and  I  don't  want  to  hear  anything  about 
it.  And  now,  sir,  I  would  like  to  tell  you  something. 
It  is  something  I  thought  you  came  here  to  ask  about, 
and  I  did  not  like  it,  but  now  I  want  to  tell  you  of  my 

230 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    MR.    TOM 

own  free  will,  in  confidence.  That  is  to  say,  I  don't 
want  you  to  speak  of  it  to  anybody  in  your  house. 
I  suppose  you  have  heard  something  about  my  in 
tending  to  marry  a  woman  in  town?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield,  "  I  can  not  deny  that 
I  have,  but  I  considered  it  was  entirely  your  own  af 
fair,  and  I  had  not " 

"  Of  course,"  interrupted  the  captain,  "  and  I 
want  to  tell  you — but  I  don't  want  my  niece  to  hear 
it  as  coming  from  me — that  that  whole  thing  is  a  most 
abominable  lie !  That  woman  has  been  trying  to  make 
people  believe  I  am  going  to  marry  her,  and  she  has 
made  a  good  many  believe  it,  but  I  would  rather  cut 
my  throat  than  marry  her.  But  I  have  told  her  what 
I  think  of  her  in  a  way  she  can  not  mistake.  And  that 
ends  her !  I  tell  you  this,  Mr.  Easterfield,  because  I 
believe  you  are  a  good  man,  and  you  certainly  seem  to 
be  a  friendly  man,  and  I  would  like  you  to  know  it.  I 
would  have  liked  very  much  to  tell  everybody,  espe 
cially  my  own  flesh  and  blood,  but  now  I  assure  you, 
sir,  I  am  too  proud  to  have  her  know  it  through  me. 
Let  her  go  on  and  marry  anybody  she  pleases,  and  let 
her  think  anything  she  pleases  about  me.  She  has  been 
satisfied  with  her  own  opinion  of  me  without  giving 
me  a  chance  to  explain  to  her,  or  to  tell  her  the  truth, 
and  now  she  can  stay  satisfied  with  it  until  somebody 
else  sets  her  straight. ' ' 

"  But  this  is  very  hard,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Easter 
field  ;  ' '  hard  on  you,  hard  on  her,  and  hard  on  all  of 
us,  I  may  say." 

The  captain  made  no  answer  to  these  words,  and 
did  not  appear  to  hear  them.  "  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Easter- 

231 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

field,"  he  said  presently,  "  that  I  did  not  know  until 
now  how  much  I  cared  for  that  girl.  I  don't  mind 
saying  this  to  you  because  you  come  to  me  like  a  friend, 
and  I  believe  in  you.  Yes,  sir,  I  did  not  know  how 
much  I  cared  for  her,  and  it  is  pretty  hard  on  me  to 
find  out  how.  little  she  cares  for  me. " 

"  You  are  wrong  there,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield. 
"  My  wife  tells  me  that  Miss  Asher.  has  frequently 
talked  to  her  about  you  and  her  life  here,  and  it  is 
certain  she  has " 

"  Oh,  that  does  not  make  any  difference,"  inter 
rupted  the  captain.  "  I  am  talking  about  things  as 
they  are  now.  It  was  all  very  well  as  long  as  things 
seemed  to  be  going  rignt,  but  I  believe  in  people  who 
stand  by  you  when  things  seem  to  be  going  wrong,  and 
who  keep  on  standing  by  you  until  they  know  how  they 
are  going,  and  that  is  exactly  what  she  did  not  do. 
Now,  there  was  Dick  Lancaster;  he  came  to  me  and 
asked  me  squarely  about  that  affair.  To  be  sure,  I  cut 
him  off  short,  for  it  angered  me  to  think  that  he,  or 
anybody  else,  should  have  such  an  idea  of  me,  and, 
besides,  it  was  none  of  his  business.  But  it  should 
have  been  her  business ;  she  ought  to  have  made  it  her 
business ;  and,  even  if  the  thing  had  stood  differently, 
I  would  have  told  her  exactly  how  it  did  stand;  and 
then  she  could  have  said  to  me  what  she  thought  about 
it,  and  what  she  was  going  to  do.  But  instead  of  that, 
she  just  made  up  her  mind  about  me,  and  away  went 
everything.  Yes,  sir,  everything.  I  can 't  tell  you  the 
plans  I  had  made  for  her  and  for  myself,  and,  I  may 
say,  for  Dick  Lancaster.  If  it  suited  her,  I  wanted  her 
to  marry  him,  and  if  it  suited  her  I  wanted  to  go  and 

232 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    MR.    TOM 

live  with  them  in  his  college  town,  or  any  other  place 
they  might  want  to  go.  Again  and  again,  after  I 
knew  Dick,  have  I  gone  over  this  thing  and  planned  it 
out  this  way,  and  that  way,  but  always  with  us  three 
in  the  middle  of  everything.  Do  you  see  that  ?  ' '  con 
tinued  the  captain  after  a  slight  pause,  as  he  drew 
from  his  pocket  a  dainty  little  pearl  paper-cutter. 
"  That  belongs  to  her.  She  used  to  sit  out  here,  and 
cut  the  leaves  of  books  as  she  read  them.  I  can  see  her 
little  hand  now  as  it  went  sliding  along  the  edges  of  the 
pages.  When  she  went  away  she  left  it  on  the  bench, 
and  I  took  it.  And  I've  kept  it  in  my  pocket  to  take 
out  when  I  sit  here,  and  cut  books  with  it  when  I  have 
'em.  I  haven 't  many  books  that  ain  't  cut,  but  I  've  sat 
here  and  cut  'em  till  there  wasn  't  any  left.  And  then 
I  cut  a  lot  of  old  volumes  of  Coast  Survey  Reports.  It 
is  a  foolish  thing  for  an  old  man  to  do,  but  then — but 
then — well,  you  see,  I  did  it. ' ' 

There  was  a  choke  in  the  captain's  voice  as  he 
leaned  over  to  put  the  paper-cutter  in  his  pocket  and 
to  pick  up  his  pipe,  which  he  had  laid  on  the  bench 
beside  him.  Mr.  Easterfield  was  touched  and  sur 
prised.  He  would  not  have  supposed  the  captain  to 
be  a  man  of  such  tender  sentiment.  And  he  took  him 
at  once  to  his  heart.  "  It  is  a  shame,"  his  thoughts 
ran, ' '  for  this  man  to  be  separated  from  the  niece  he  so 
loves.  She  is  a  cold-hearted  girl,  or  she  does  not  un 
derstand  him.  It  must  not  be. ' ' 

Had  he  been  a  woman  he  would  have  said  all  this, 
but,  being  a  man,  he  found  it  difficult  to  break  the 
silence  which  followed  the  captain's  last  words.  He 
did  not  know  what  to  say,  although  he  had  no  hesita- 

233 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

tion  in  making  up  his  mind  what  he  was  going  to  do 
about  it  all.     He  arose. 

' '  Captain  Asher, ' '  he  said,  ' '  I  have  now  told  you 
what  I  thought  you  should  know,  and  I  must  take  my 
departure.  I  would  not  presume  for  a  moment  to  offer 
you  any  advice  in  regard  to  your  family  affairs,  but 
there  is  one  thing  Mrs.  Easterfield  and  I  will  interfere 
with,  if  we  can,  for  we  feel  that  we  have  a  right  to  do 
it,  and  that  is  any  definite  and  immediate  engagement 
of  your  niece.  If  she  should  promise  herself  in  mar 
riage  at  our  house  we  shall  feel  that  we  are  responsible 
for  it,  and  that,  in  fact,  we  brought  it  about.  Whether 
the  match  shall  seem  desirable  to  you  or  not,  we  do  not 
wish  to  be  answerable  for  it. ' ' 

"  Oh,  I  need  not  be  counted  in  at  all,"  said  the 
captain,  who  had  recovered  his  composure.  ' l  It  is  her 
own  affair.  I  suppose  it  was  the  news  of  her  father's 
intended  marriage  that  put  her  in  such  a  hurry. ' ' 

"  You  are  right,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield. 

"  Just  like  her!  "  the  captain  exclaimed.  "  And 
I  don 't  blame  her.  I  'm  with  her  there !  ' 3 

When  Mr.  Tom  reached  Broadstone  he  dismounted 
at  the  stable,  and  walked  to  the  house.  Nobody  was 
to  be  seen  on  the  grounds.  It  was  a  warm  afternoon 
when  those  whose  hearts  were  undisturbed  by  the  tur 
moils  of  love  were  apt  to  be  napping,  and  those  who 
were  in  the  tumultuous  state  of  mind  referred  to,  pre 
ferred  to  separate  themselves  from  each  other  and  the 
rest  of  the  world  until  the  cause  of  their  inquietude 
should  consider  the  heat  of  the  summer  day  as  suffi 
ciently  mitigated  for  her  to  appear  again  among  her 
fellow  beings. 

234 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    MR.    TOM 

Mr.  Easterfield  did  not  care  to  meet  any  of  his 
guests,  and  hoped  to  find  his  wife  in  her  room,  that  he 
might  report,  and  consult.  But,  as  he  approached  the 
house,  he  saw  at  an  upper  window  a  female  head.  It 
stayed  there  just  long  enough  for  him  to  see  that  it 
was  Olive's  head;  then  it  disappeared.  When  he 
reached  the  hall  door  there  stood  Olive. 

Mr.  Tom  was  a  little  disappointed.  He  wanted 
to  see  his  wife  immediately,  and  then  to  see  Olive. 
But  he  could  not  say  so. 

' '  Well, ' '  said  the  girl,  coming  down  the  steps,  ' '  it 
looks  as  if  we  had  arranged  to  meet.  But  although 
we  didn't,  let's  take  a  little  walk.  I  have  something 
I  want  to  say  to  you. ' ' 

Mr.  Easterfield  turned,  and  walked  away  from  the 
house.  He  was  a  masterful  man,  and  did  not  like  to 
have  his  plans  interfered  with.  Therefore  he  made  a 
dash,  and  had  the  first  word.  ' '  Miss  Asher, ' '  said  he, 
"  I  am  glad  to  hear  anything  you  have  to  say,  but  first 
you  must  really  listen  to  me. ' ' 

Olive  looked  at  him  with  surprise.  She  also  was  a 
masterful  person,  and  not  accustomed  to  be  treated  in 
this  way.  But  he  gave  her  no  chance. 

"  Miss  Asher,"  said  he,  "I  have  come  to  you  to 
speak  for  one  of  your  lovers,  the  truest,  best  lover  you 
ever  had,  and  I  believe,  ever  will  have. ' ' 

Olive  looked  at  him  steadfastly,  and  her  face  grew 
hard.  ' '  Mr.  Easterfield, ' '  she  said,  ' '  this  will  not  do. 
I  have  told  you  I  will  not  have  it.  Mrs.  Easterfield 
and  you  have  been  very  good  and  kind,  and  I  have  told 
you  everything,  but  you  do  not  seem  to  remember  one 
thing  I  have  said.  I  will  not  have  anybody  forced 

235 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

upon  me ;  no  matter  if  he  happens  to  be  an  angel  from 
heaven,  or  no  matter  how  much  better  he  may  be  than 
anybody  else  en  earth.  I  have  my  reasons  for  this  de 
termination.  They  are  good  reasons,  and,  above  all, 
they  are  my  reasons.  I  don't  want  you  to  think  me 
rude,  but  if  you  persist  in  forcing  that  gentleman  upon 
my  attention,  I  shall  have  to  request  that  the  whole 
subject  be  dropped  between  us. ' ' 

*  Who  in  the  name  of  common  sense  do  you  think  I 
am  talking  about?  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Tom.  "  Do  you 
think  I  refer  to  Mr.  Lancaster  ?  ' : 

"I  do,"  she  said.  "  You  know  you  would  not 
come  to  plead  the  cause  of  any  one  of  the  others. ' ' 

He  looked  down  at  her  half  doubtfully,  wondering 
a  little  how  she  would  take  what  he  was  going  to  say. 
' '  You  are  mistaken, ' '  he  said  quietly.  ' '  I  have  noth 
ing  whatever  to  say  about  Mr.  Lancaster.  The  lover  I 
speak  of  is  your  uncle." 

Then  her  face  turned  red.  * '  Why  do  you  use  that 
expression  ?  Did  he  send  you  to  say  it  1  ' ; 

* '  Not  at  all.  I  came  of  my  own  free  will  I  went 
to  see  Captain  Asher  immediately  after  I  left  you. 
Perhaps  you  are  thinking  that  I  have  no  right  to  in 
trude  in  your  family  affairs,  but  I  do  not  mind  your 
thinking  that.  I  had  a  long  talk  with  your  uncle.  I 
found  that  the  uppermost  sentiment  of  his  soul  was  his 
love  for  you.  You  had  come  into  his  life  like  the  break 
of  day.  Every  little  thing  you  had  owned  or  touched 
was  dear  to  him  because  it  had  been  yours,  or  you  had 
used  it.  All  his  plans  in  life  had  been  remade  in  ref 
erence  to  you." 

They  had  stopped  and  were  standing  facing  each 
236 


THE    CAPTAIN    AND    MR.    TOM 

other.  They  could  not  walk  and  talk  as  they  were 
talking. 

"  Yet,  but,"  she  exclaimed,  her  face  pale  and  her 
eyes  fixed  steadfastly  upon  him,  "  but  what  of 
that— 

' '  There  are  no  yets  and  buts, ' '  he  exclaimed,  half 
angry  with  her  that  she  hesitated.  '  *  I  know  what  you 
were  going  to  say,  but  that  woman  you  have  heard  of 
is  nothing  to  him.  He  hates  her  worse  than  you  hate 
her.  She  has  imposed  upon  you ;  how  I  know  not ;  but 
she  is  an  impostor." 

At  this  instant  she  seized  him  by  the  arm.  "  Mr. 
Easterfield,"  she  cried,  and  as  she  spoke  the  tears 
were  running  down  her  cheeks,  "  please  let  me  have 
a  carriage — something  covered !  I  would  go  on  my 
wheel,  for  that  would  be  quicker,  but  I  don't  want 
anybody  to  speak  to  me  or  see  me !  Will  you  have  it 
brought  to  the  back  door,  Mr.  Easterfield,  please?  I 
will  run  to  the  house,  and  be  waiting  when  it  comes. ' ' 

She  did  not  wait  for  him  to  answer.  He  did  not 
ask  her  where  she  was  going.  He  knew  very  well. 
She  ran  to  the  house,  and  he  hurried  to  the  stable. 

Having  given  his  orders,  Mr.  Tom  went  in  search  of 
his  wife.  The  moment  had  arrived  when  it  was  abso 
lutely  necessary  to  let  her  know  what  was  going  on. 

He  found  her  in  her  own  room.  ' '  Where  on  earth 
have  you  been  ?  ' '  she  exclaimed.  ' '  I  have  been  look 
ing  everywhere  for  you. ' ' 

In  as  few  words  as  possible  he  told  her  where  he 
had  been,  and  what  he  had  done. 

' '  And  where  are  you  going  now  ?  ' '  she  asked. 

"  I  am  going  to  change  my  coat,"  said  the  good 
237 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Mr.  Tom.  "  After  my  ride  to  the  toll-gate  and  back 
this  jacket  is  too  dusty  for  me  to  drive  with  her." 

"  Drive  with  her!  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Easterfield. 
"  It  will  be  very  well  for  you  to  get  rid  of  some  of  that 
dust,  but  when  the  carriage  comes  I  will  drive  with 
Olive  to  see  her  uncle. ' ' 

And  thus  it  happened  that  Mr.  Tom  stayed  at  home 
with  the  house  party  while  the  close  carriage,  contain 
ing  his  wife  and  that  dear  girl,  Olive  Asher,  rolled 
swiftly  southward  over  the  smooth  turnpike  road. 


238 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

A  Stop  at  the  Toll-gate 

THE  four  lovers  at  Broadstone  walked,  and  wan 
dered,  and  waited,  after  breakfast  that  morning,  but 
only  one  of  them  knew  definitely  what  he  was  waiting 
for,  and  that  was  Mr.  Locker.  He  was  waiting  for 
half -past  twelve  o'clock,  when  he  would  join  Miss 
Asher,  if  she  gave  him  an  opportunity;  and  he  was 
sure  she  would  give  him  one,  for  she  was  always  to  be 
trusted.  He  intended  this  interview  to  be  decisive. 
It  would  not  do  for  him  to  wait  any  longer ;  yes  or  no 
must  be  her  word.  She  had  been  walking  down  by  the 
river  with  the  best  clothes  on  the  premises,  and  he  now 
feared  the  owner  of  those  clothes  more  than  anybody 
else.  He  was  a  keen-sighted  young  man,  for  otherwise 
how  could  he  have  been  a  poet,  and  he  assured  himself 
that  Miss  Asher  was  taking  Hcmphill  seriously. 

So  Mr.  Locker  determined  to  charge  the  works  of 
the  enemy  that  day  before  luncheon.  When  the  con 
flict  was  over  his  flag  might  float  high  and  free  or  it 
might  lie  trampled  in  the  dust,  but  the  battle  should 
be  fought,  and  no  quarter  would  be  asked  or  given. 

As  for  Mr.  Hemphill  and  Mr.  Du  Brant,  they 
simply  wandered,  and  waited,  and  bored  the  rest  of  the 
company.  They  did  not  care  to  do  anything,  for  that 

239 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

might  embarrass  them  in  case  Miss  Asher  appeared  and 
wished  to  do  something  else ;  they  did  not  want  to  stay 
in  the  house  because  she  might  show  herself  somewhere 
out  of  doors ;  they  did  not  want  to  stay  on  the  grounds 
because  at  any  moment  she  might  seat  herself  in  the 
library  with  a  book;  above  all  things,  they  wanted  to 
keep  away  from  each  other ;  and  their  indeterminate 
peregrinations  made  sick  the  souls  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fox. 

The  diplomat  did  not  know  what  he  was  going  to 
do  when  he  saw  Miss  Asher  alone;  everything  would 
depend  upon  surrounding  circumstances,  for  he  was 
quick  as  well  as  wary,  and  could  make  up  his  mind  on 
the  instant.  But  good  Rupert  Hemphill  had  not  even 
as  much  decision  of  purpose  as  this.  He  had  already 
spent  half  an  hour  with  the  lady  of  his  love,  and  he 
had  not  been  very  happy.  Delighted  that  she  had  per 
mitted  him  to  join  her,  he  had  at  once  begun  to  speak 
of  the  one  great  object  which  dominated  his  existence, 
but  she  had  earnestly  entreated  him  not  to  do  so. 

*  *  It  is  such  a  pity, ' '  she  had  said,  * '  for  us  never  to 
talk  of  anything  but  that.  There  are  so  many  things 
I  like  to  talk  about,  especially  the  things  of  which  I 
read.  I  am  now  reading  Charles  Lamb — that  is,  when 
ever  I  get  a  chance — and  I  don't  believe  anybody  in 
these  days  ever  does  read  the  works  of  that  dear  old 
man.  There  is  a  complete  set  of  his  books  in  the 
library,  and  they  do  not  look  as  if  they  had  ever 
been  opened.  Did  you  ever  read  his  little  essays  on 
Popular  Fallacies  ?  Some  of  them  are  just  as  true  as 
they  can  be,  although  they  seem  like  making  fun,  espe 
cially  the  one  about  the  angry  man  being  always  in  the 

240 


A    STOP    AT    THE    TOLL-GATE 

wrong.  I  am  inclined  to  side  with  the  angry  man.  I 
know  I  am  generally  right  when  I  am  angry. ' ' 

Mr.  Hemphill  had  not  read  these  little  essays,  nor 
had  he  admitted  that  he  had  never  read  anything  else 
by  Mr.  Lamb ;  but  he  had  agreed  that  it  was  very  com 
mon  to  be  both  angry  and  right.  Then  Olive  had  talked 
to  him  about  other  books,  and  his  way  had  become  very 
rough  and  exceedingly  thorny,  and  he  had  wished  he 
knew  how  to  bring  up  the  subject  of  some  new  figures 
in  the  German.  But  he  had  not  succeeded  in  doing 
this.  She  had  been  in  a  bookish  mood,  and  the  mood 
had  lasted  until  she  had  left  him. 

Now  he  began  to  think  that  it  would  be  better  for 
him  to  give  up  wandering  and  waiting  and  go  into  the 
library  and  prepare  himself  for  another  talk  with 
Olive,  but  he  did  not  go ;  she  might  see  him  and  sus 
pect  his  design.  He  would  wait  until  later.  He  took 
some  books  to  his  room. 

Dick  Lancaster  wandered  and  waited,  but  he  was 
full  of  a  purpose,  although  it  was  not  exactly  definite ; 
he  wanted  to  find  Mrs.  Easter  field  and  ask  her  to  re 
lease  him  from  his  promise.  He  could  not  remain 
much  longer  at  Broadstone,  and  Olive 's  morning  walk 
with  Hemphill  had  made  him  very  nervous.  She  knew 
that  these  young  men  were  in  love  with  her,  and  he 
had  a  right  to  let  her  know  that  he  was  also.  It  might 
be  imprudent  for  him  to  do  this,  but  he  could  not  see 
why  it  would  not  be  as  imprudent  at  any  other  time 
as  now.  Moreover,  there  might  come  no  other  time, 
and  he  had  control  of  now. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  had  not  joined  her  guests  because 
of  her  anxiety  about  Olive.  Mr.  Easterfield  did  not 

241 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

appear.    For  a  time  he  was  very  particularly  engaged 
in  the  garden.    Mr.  Fox  grew  very  much  irritated. 

"  I  tell  you,  my  dear,"  said  he,  "  every  one  who 
comes  here  makes  this  place  more  stupid  and  dull.  I 
can 't  see  exactly  any  reason  for  it,  but  these  lovers  are 
at  the  bottom  of  it.  I  hate  lovers. ' ' 

' i  You  should  be  very  glad,  my  dear, ' '  replied  Mrs. 
Fox,  "  that  I  was  not  of  your  opinion  in  my  early 
life." 

But  things  changed  for  the  better  after  a  time.  It 
is  true  that  Mrs.  Easterfield  and  Olive  did  not  appear, 
but  Mr.  Easterfield  showed  himself,  and  did  it  with 
great  advantage.  The  simple  statement  that  his  wife 
and  Miss  Asher  had  gone  to  make  a  call  caused  a  feel 
ing  of  relief  to  spread  over  the  wrhole  party.  Until 
the  callers  returned  there  was  no  reason  why  they 
should  not  all  enjoy  themselves,  and  Mr.  Easterfield 
was  there  to  show  them  how  to  do  it. 

As  the  Broadstone  carriage  rolled  swiftly  on  there 
was  not  much  conversation  between  its  occupants.  To 
the  somewhat  sensitive  mind  of  Mrs.  Easterfield  it 
seemed  that  Olive  was  a  little  disappointed  at  the 
change  of  companions,  but  this  may  have  been  a  mere 
fancy.  The  girl  was  so  wrapped  up  in  self-concen 
trated  thought  that  it  was  not  likely  that  she  would 
have  talked  much  to  any  one.  Suddenly,  however, 
Olive  broke  out : 

"  Mr.  Easterfield  must  be  a  thoroughly  good 
man !  ' '  she  said. 

"  He  is,"  assented  the  other. 

' '  And  you  have  always  been  entirely  satisfied  with 
him?  " 

242 


A    STOP    AT    THE    TOLL-GATE 

'  *  Entirely, ' '  was  the  reply,  without  a  smile. 

Now  Olive  turned  her  face  toward  her  companion 
and  laid  her  hand  upon  her  arm.  ' '  You  ought  to  be 
a  happy  woman, ' '  she  said. 

' '  Now,  what  is  this  girl  thinking  of  ?  "  asked  Mrs. 
Easterfield  to  herself.  "  Is  she  imagining  that  any 
one  of  the  young  fellows  who  are  now  besieging  her 
can  ever  be  to  her  what  Tom  is  to  me?  Or  is  she 
making  an  ideal  of  my  husband  to  the  disparagement 
of  her  own  lovers?  Whichever  way  she  thinks,  she 
would  better  give  up  thinking." 

But  the  somewhat  sensitive  Mrs.  Easterfield  need 
not  have  troubled  herself.  The  girl  had  already  for 
gotten  the  good  Mr.  Tom,  and  her  mind  was  intent 
upon  getting  to  her  uncle. 

"  Will  you  please  ask  the  man  to  stop,"  she  said, 
"  before  he  gets  to  the  gate,  and  let  me  out?  Then 
perhaps  you  will  kindly  drive  on  to  the  tollhouse  and 
wait  for  me.  I  will  not  keep  you  waiting  long. ' ' 

The  carriage  stopped,  and  Olive  slipped  out,  and, 
before  Mrs.  Easterfield  had  any  idea  of  what  she  was 
going  to  do,  the  girl  climbed  the  rail  fence  which  sepa 
rated  the  road  from  the  captain's  pasture  field.  Be 
tween  this  field  and  the  garden  was  a  picket  fence,  not 
very  high ;  and,  toward  a  point  about  midway  between 
the  little  tollhouse  and  the  dwelling,  Olive  now  ran 
swiftly.  When  she  had  nearly  reached  the  fence  she 
gave  a  great  bound ;  put  one  foot  on  the  upper  rail  to 
which  the  pickets  were  nailed;  and  then  went  over. 
What  would  have  happened  if  the  sharp  pales  had 
caught  her  skirts  might  well  be  imagined.  But  noth 
ing  happened. 

18  243 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  That  was  a  fine  spring !  "  said  Mrs.  Easterfield  to 
herself.  "  She  has  seen  him  in  the  house,  and  wants 
to  get  there  before  he  hears  the  carriage." 

Olive  walked  quietly  through  the  garden  to  the 
house.  She  knew  that  her  uncle  was  not  at  the  gate, 
for  from  afar  she  had  seen  that  the  little  piazza  on 
which  he  was  wont  to  sit  was  empty.  She  went  noise 
lessly  into  the  hall,  and  looked  into  the  parlor.  By  a 
window  in  the  back  of  the  room  she  saw  her  uncle  wri 
ting  at  a  little  table.  With  a  rush  of  air  she  was  at  his 
side  before  he  knew  she  was  in  the  room.  As  he 
turned  his  head  her  arms  were  around  his  neck,  and 
the  pen  in  his  hand  made  a  great  splotch  of  ink  upon 
her  white  summer  dress. 

'  *  Now,  uncle, ' '  she  exclaimed,  looking  into  his  as 
tonished  face, ' '  here  I  am  and  here  I  am  going  to  stay ! 
And  if  you  want  to  know  anything  more  about  it,  you 
will  have  to  wait,  for  I  am  not  going  to  make  any  ex 
planations  now.  I  am  too  happy  to  know  that  I  have 
a  dear  uncle  left  to  me  in  this  world,  and  to  know  that 
we  two  are  going  to  live  together  always  to  want  to 
talk  about  whys  and  wherefores. ' ' 

"But,  Olive!  "  exclaimed  the  captain. 

"  There  are  no  buts, "  she  interrupted.  "  Not  a 
single  but,  my  dear  Uncle  John !  I  have  come  back  to 
stay  with  you,  and  that  is  all  there  is  about  it.  Mrs. 
Easterfield  is  outside  in  her  carriage,  and  I  must  go 
and  send  her  away.  But  don't  you  come  out,  Uncle 
John ;  I  have  some  things  to  say  to  her,  and  I  will  let 
you  know  when  she  is  going." 

As  Olive  sped  out  of  the  room  Captain  Asher 
turned  around  in  his  chair  and  looked  after  her.  Tears 

244 


A    STOP    AT    THE    TOLL-GATE 

were  running  down  his  swarthy  cheeks.  He  did  not 
know  how  or  why  it  had  all  happened.  He  only  knew 
that  Olive  was  coming  back  to  live  with  him! 

Meantime  old  Jane  was  entertaining  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  at  the  toll-gate,  where  no  money  was  paid,  but  a 
great  deal  of  information  gained.  The  old  woman  had 
seen  Miss  Olive  run  into  the  house,  and  she  was  elated 
and  excited,  and  consequently  voluble.  Mrs.  Easterfield 
got  the  full  account  of  the  one-sided  courtship  of 
the  captain  and  Miss  Port.  Even  the  concluding  epi 
sode  of  Maria  having  been  put  to  bed  had  somehow 
reached  the  ears  of  old  Jane.  It  is  really  wonderful 
how  secret  things  do  become  known,  for  not  one  of  the 
three  actors  in  that  scene  would  have  told  it  on  any 
account.  But  old  Jane  knew  it,  and  told  it  with  great 
glee,  to  Mrs.  Easterfield 's  intense  enjoyment.  Then 
she  proceeded  to  praise  Olive  for  the  spirit  she  had 
shown  under  these  trying  circumstances ;  and,  in  this 
connection,  naturally  there  came  into  the  recital  the 
spirit  the  old  woman  herself  had  shown  under  these 
same  trying  circumstances,  and  how  she  had  got  all 
ready  to  leave  the  minute  the  nuptial  knot  was  tied 
and  before  that  Maria  Port  could  reach  the  toll-gate, 
although  it  was  like  tearing  herself  apart  to  leave  the 
spot  where  she  had  lived  so  many  years.  "  But," 
she  concluded,  "it  is  all  right  now.  The  captain 
tells  me  it's  all  a  lie  of  her  own  makin'.  She's 
good  at  that  business,  and  if  lies  was  salable  she'd 
be  rich." 

Just  as  the  old  woman  reached  this,  what  seemed 
to  her  unsophisticated  mind,  impossible  business  prop 
osition,  Olive  appeared.  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  sur- 

245 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

prised  to  see  her  so  soon,  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  a  little 
disappointed.  She  had  been  greatly  interested  and 
amused  by  the  old  woman's  rapid  tale,  which  she  would 
not  interrupt,  but  had  put  aside  in  her  mind  several 
questions  to  ask,  and  one  of  them  was  in  relation  to  her 
husband's  late  visit  to  the  captain.  She  had  had  no 
detailed  account  from  him,  and  she  wondered  how 
much  this  old  body  knew  about  it.  She  seemed  to  know 
pretty  much  everything.  But  Olive's  appearance  put 
an  end  to  this  absorbing  conversation. 

"  Has  you  come  to  stay,  dearie?  "  eagerly  asked 
old  Jane,  as  Olive  grasped  her  hand. 

"  To  be  sure  I  have,  Jane!  I  have  come  to  stay 
forever!  " 

"  Thank  goodness!  "  exclaimed  the  old  woman. 
* '  How  the  captain  will  brighten  up !  But  my !  I 
must  go  and  alter  the  supper!  " 

"  Mrs.  Easterfield,"  said  Olive,  when  the  old 
woman  had  departed,  '  *  you  will  have  to  go  back  with 
out  me.  I  can  not  leave  my  uncle,  and  I  am  going  to 
stay  here  right  along.  You  must  not  think  I  am  un 
grateful  to  you,  or  unmindful  of  Mr.  Easterfield 's 
great  kindness,  but  this  is  my  place  for  the  present. 
Some  day  I  know  you  will  be  good  enough  to  let  me 
pay  you  another  visit. ' ' 

"  And  what  am  I  to  do  with  all  those  young 
men?  "  asked  Mrs.  Easterfield  mischievously.  She 
would  have  added,  "  And  one  of  them  your  future 
husband?  "  But  she  remembered  the  coachman. 

Olive  laughed.  "  They  will  annoy  you  less  when 
I  am  not  there.  If  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  ask  your 
maid  to  pack  up  my  belongings,  I  will  send  for  my 

246 


A    STOP    AT    THE    TOLL-GATE 

trunk. "  She  glanced  at  the  coachman.  "  Would 
you  mind  taking  a  little  walk  with  me  along  the 
road?" 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  do  so,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield, 
getting  out  of  the  carriage. 

"  Now,  my  dear  Mrs.  Easterfield,"  said  Olive  when 
they  were  some  distance  from  the  toll-gate  and  the 
house,  ' '  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  add  to  all  your  kind 
ness  one  more  favor  for  me. ' ' 

"  That  has  such  an  ominous  sound,"  said  Mrs.  Eas 
terfield,  "  that  I  am  not  disposed  to  promise  before 
hand." 

"It  is  about  those  three  young  men  you  men 
tioned." 

' '  I  mentioned  no  number,  and  there  are  four. ' ' 

11  In  what  I  am  going  to  ask  of  you  one  of  them 
can  be  counted  out.  lie  is  not  in  the  affair.  Only 
three  are  in  this  business.  Won't  you  be  so  good  as  to 
decline  them  all  for  me  ?  I  know  that  you  can  do  it 
better  than  I  can.  You  have  so  much  tact.  And  you 
must  have  done  the  thing  many  a  time,  and  I  have  not 
done  it  once.  I  am  very  awkward ;  I  don't  know  how ; 
and,  to  confess  the  truth,  I  have  put  myself  into  a 
pretty  bad  fix." 

"  Upon  my  word,"  cried  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  that  is 
a  prettjr  thing  for  one  woman  to  ask  of  another !  ' ' 

' '  I  know  it  is, ' '  said  Olive,  ' '  and  I  would  not  ask 
it  of  anybody  but  the  truest  friend — of  no  one  but  you. 
But  you  see  how  difficult  it  is  for  me  to  attend  to  it.  And 
it  must  be  done.  I  have  given  up  all  idea  of  marrying, 
I  am  going  to  stay  here,  and  when  my  father  comes 
with  his  young  lady  he  will  find  me  settled  and  fixed, 

247 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

and  he  and  she  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  making 
plans  for  me.  Now,  dear  Mrs.  Easterfield,  I  know  you 
will  do  this  favor  for  me,  and  let  me  say  that  I  wish  you 
would  be  particularly  gentle  and  pleasant  in  speaking 
to  Mr.  Locker.  I  think  he  is  really  a  very  kind  and 
considerate  young  man.  He  certainly  showed  himself 
that  way.  I  know  you  can  talk  so  nicely  to  him  that 
perhaps  he  will  not  mind  very  much.  As  for  Mr.  Du 
Brant,  you  can  tell  him  plainly  that  I  have  carefully 
considered  his  proposition — and  that  is  the  exact  truth 
— and  that  I  find  it  will  be  wise  for  me  not  to  accept 
it.  He  is  a  man  of  affairs,  and  will  understand  that  I 
have  given  him  a  straightforward,  practical  answer, 
and  he  will  be  satisfied.  You  must  not  be  sharp  with 
Mr.  Hemphill,  as  I  know  you  will  be  inclined  to  be. 
Please  remember  that  I  was  once  in  love  with  him,  and 
respect  my  feelings  as  well  as  his.  Besides,  he  is  good, 
and  he  is  in  earnest,  and  he  deserves  fair  treatment.  I 
am  sorry  that  I  have  worried  you  about  him,  and  I  will 
tell  you  now  that  I  have  found  out  he  would  not  do  at 
all.  I  found  it  out  this  morning  when  I  was  talking 
to  him  about  books.  His  mind  is  neither  broad  nor 
cultivated. ' ' 

"  I  could  have  told  you  that,"  said  Mrs.  Easter- 
field,  "  and  saved  you  all  the  trouble  of  taking  that 
walk  by  the  river." 

"  And  then  there  is  one  more  thing,"  continued 
Olive;  "  it  is  about  Professor  Lancaster.  I  am  sure 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  it  will  not  do  for  him  to 
come  back  here.  I  am  just  going  to  start  housekeeping 
again.  I've  got  the  supper  on  my  mind  this  minute. 
You  can't  imagine  how  everything  has  turned  topsy- 

248 


A    STOP    AT    THE    TOLL-GATE 

turvy  since  I  left.  I  suppose  he  will  be  wanting  to 
go  North,  anyway.  In  fact,  he  told  me  so. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  laughed.  She  did  not  believe  that 
Mr.  Lancaster  would  want  to  go  North,  or  West,  or 
East,  although  South  might  suit  him.  But  she  saw 
the  point  of  Olive's  request;  it  would  be  awkward  to 
have  him  at  the  tollhouse. 

"  Oh,  I  will  take  care  of  him,""  she  said,  "  and  he 
shall  continue  his  vacation  trip  just  as  soon  as  Mr. 
Easterfield  and  I  choose  to  give  him  up." 

' '  You  see, ' '  said  Olive  in  an  explanatory  way,  ' '  I 
have  not  anything  in  the  world  to  do  with  him,  but  I 
thought  he  might  want  to  come  back  to  see  uncle  again. 
And,  really,"  she  added,  speaking  with  a  great  deal 
of  earnestness,  "  I  don't  want  to  be  bothered  with  any 
more  young  men !  And  now  I  will  call  uncle.  You 
know  I  had  to  say  all  these  things  to  you  immediately. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  walked  quickly  back  to  her  car 
riage,  but  she  did  not  wait  to  see  Captain  Asher.  As 
a  hostess  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  hurry  back  home; 
and  as  a  quick-witted,  sensible  woman  she  saw  that  it 
would  be  well  to  leave  these  two  happy  people  to  them 
selves.  This  was  not  the  time  for  them  to  talk  to  her. 
So,  when  the  captain,  unwilling  to  wait  any  longer, 
appeared  at  the  door  of  the  house,  these  two  dear 
friends  had  kissed  and  parted,  and  the  carriage  was 
speeding  away. 

On  her  way  home  Mrs.  Easterfield  forgot  her  slight 
chagrin  at  what  her  husband  had  not  done,  in  her  joy 
at  what  he  had  accomplished.  He  had  neglected  to 
take  her  fully  into  his  confidence,  and  had  acted  very 
much  as  if  he  had  been  a  naval  commander,  who  had 

249 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

cut  his  telegraphic  connections  in  order  not  to  be  em 
barrassed  by  orders  from  the  home  government.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  he  had  saved  her  from  the  terrible 
shock  of  hearing  Olive  declare  that  she  had  just  en 
gaged  herself  to  Rupert  Hemphill.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  the  extraordinary  promptness  of  her  good  Tom — 
a  style  of  action  he  had  acquired  in  the  railroad  busi 
ness — it  would  have  been  just  as  likely  as  not  that  Olive 
would  have  accepted  that  young  man  before  she  had 
had  an  opportunity  of  finding  out  his  want  of  breadth 
and  cultivation. 


250 


CHAPTER    XXVII 
By  Proxy 

ABOUT  half-past  twelve  Claude  Locker  made  his 
appearance  in  the  spacious  hall.  He  looked  out  of  the 
front  door ;  he  looked  out  of  the  back  door ;  he  peered 
into  the  parlor ;  he  glanced  up  the  stairway ;  and  then 
he  peeped  into  the  library.  He  had  not  seen  the  lady 
of  the  house  since  her  return,  and  he  was  waiting  for 
Olive.  This  morning  his  fate  was  to  be  positively  de 
cided  ;  he  would  take  a  position  that  would  allow  of  no 
postponement;  he  would  tell  her  plainly  that  a  state 
ment  that  she  was  not  prepared  to  give  him  an  answer 
that  day  would  be  considered  by  him  as  a  final  rejec 
tion.  She  must  haul  down  her  flag  or  he  would  sur 
render  and  present  to  her  his  sword. 

Claude  Locker  saw  nothing  of  Miss  Asher,  but  it 
was  not  long  before  the  lady  of  the  house  came  down 
stairs. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Locker,"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  am  so  glad 
to  see  you !  Come  into  the  library,  please. ' ' 

He  hesitated  a  minute.  "  I  beg  your  pardon," 
said  he,  "  but  I  have  an  appointment " 

"  I  know  that,"  said  she,  "  and  you  may  be  sur 
prised  to  hear  that  it  is  with  me  and  not  with  Miss 
Asher.  Come  in  and  I  will  tell  you  about  it. ' ' 

251 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Claude  Locker  actually  ran  after  his  hostess  into 
the  library,  both  of  his  eyes  wide  open. 

! '  And  now, ' '  said  she,  * '  please  sit  down,  and  hear 
what  I  have  to  say. ' ' 

Locker  seated  himself  on  the  edge  of  a  chair ;  he  did 
not  feel  happy ;  he  suspected  something  was  wrong. 

"  Is  she  sick?  "  he  asked.  "  Can't  she  come 
down?  " 

1 '  She  is  very  well, ' '  was  the  reply, ' '  but  she  is  not 
here.  She  is  with  her  uncle. ' ' 

"  Then  I  am  due  at  her  uncle's  house  before  one 
o  'clock, ' '  said  he. 

"  No,"  she  answered,  "  you  are  due  here." 

He  fixed  upon  her  a  questioning  glance. 

* '  Miss  Asher, ' '  she  continued,  * '  has  deputed  me  to 
give  you  her  answer.  She  can  not  come  herself,  but 
she  does  not  forget  her  agreement  with  you. ' ' 

The  young  man  still  gazed  steadfastly.  "  If  it  is 
to  be  a  favorable  decision,"  said  he,  "  I  hope  you  will 
be  able  to  excuse  any  exuberance  of  demeanor  on  my 
part." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  smiled.  "  In  that  case,"  she 
said,  "  I  do  not  suppose  I  should  have  been  sent  as 
an  envoy." 

His  brow  darkened,  and  instinctively  he  struck  one 
hand  writh  the  other.  "  That  is  exactly  what  I  ex 
pected  !  "  he  exclaimed.  ' '  The  signs  all  pointed  that 
way.  But  until  this  moment,  my  dear  madam,  I  hoped. 
Yes,  I  had  presumed  to  hope  that  I  might  kindle  in  her 
heart  a  little  flickering  flame.  I  had  tried  to  do  this, 
and  I  had  left  but  one  small  match  head,  which  I  in 
tended  to  strike  this  day.  But  now  I  see  I  had  a  piece 

252 


BY    PROXY 

of  the  wrong  end  of  the  match.  After  this  I  must  be 
content  forever  to  stay  in  the  cold. ' ' 

"  I  am  glad  you  view  the  matter  so  philosoph 
ically,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  and  Olive  particularly 
desired  me  to  say " 

"  Don't  call  her  Olive,  if  you  please,"  he  inter 
rupted.  "  It  is  like  speaking  to  me  through  the  partly 
open  door  of  paradise,  through  which  I  can  not  enter. 
Slam  it  shut,  I  beg  of  you,  and  talk  over  the  top  of  the 
wall." 

1 '  Miss  Asher  wants  you  to  know, ' '  continued  Mrs. 
Easterfield,  "  that  while  she  has  decided  to  decline 
your  addresses,  she  is  deeply  grateful  to  you  for  the 
considerate  way  in  which  you  have  borne  yourself 
toward  her.  I  know  she  has  a  high  regard  for  you, 
and  that  she  will  not  forget  your  kindness. ' ' 

Mr.  Locker  put  his  hands  in  his  pockets.  ' '  Do  you 
know, ' '  said  he, ' '  as  this  thing  had  to  be  done,  I  prefer 
to  have  you  do  it  than  to  have  her  do  it.  Well,  it  is 
done  now !  And  so  am  I !  ' ' 

"  You  never  did  truly  expect  to  get  her,  did  you, 
Mr.  Locker1?"  asked  Mrs.  Easterfield. 

"  Never,"  he  answered;  "  but  I  do  not  flinch  at 
what  may  be  impossibilities.  Nobody,  myself  included, 
can  imagine  that  I  shall  rival  Keats,  and  yet  I  am  al 
ways  trying  for  it. ' ' 

"  Is  it  Keats  you  are  aiming  at?  "  she  said. 

' l  Yes, ' '  he  replied ;  "  it  does  not  look  like  it,  does 
it?  But  it  is." 

"  And  you  don't  feel  disheartened  when  you 
fail  1  ' '  said  she. 

Mr.  Locker  took  his  hands  from  his  pockets,  and 
253 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

folded  his  arms.  "  Yes,  I  do,"  he  said;  "  I  feel  as 
thoroughly  disheartened  as  I  do  now.  But  I  have  one 
comfort ;  Keats  and  Miss  Asher  dropped  me ;  I  did  not 
drop  them.  So  there  is  nothing  on  my  conscience. 
And  now  tell  me,  is  she  going  to  take  Lancaster?  I 
hope  so. ' ' 

"  She  could  not  do  that,"  answered  Mrs.  Easter- 
field,  "  for  I  know  he  has  not  asked  her." 

"  Then  he'd  better  skip  around  lively  and  do  it," 
said  Mr.  Locker,  "  not  only  for  his  own  sake,  but  for 
mine.  If  I  should  be  cast  aside  for  the  Hemphill 
clothes  I  should  have  no  faith  in  humanity.  I  would 
give  up  verse,  and  I  would  give  up  woman." 

"  Don't  be  afraid  of  anything  like  that,"  said  Mrs. 
Easterfield,  laughing.  "  It  may  be  somewhat  of  a 
breach  of  confidence,  but  I  am  going  to  tell  you  never 
theless  ;  because  I  think  you  deserve  it ;  that  I  am  also 
deputed  to  decline  the  addresses  of  Mr.  Hemphill,  and 
Mr.  Du  Brant." 

"  Hurrah!  "  cried  Locker.  "  Mrs.  Easterfield,  I 
envy  you;  and  if  you  don't  feel  like  performing  the 
rest  of  your  mission,  you  can  depute  it  to  me.  I  don 't 
know  anything  at  this  moment  that  would  give  me  so 
much  joy. ' ' 

"  I  would  not  be  so  disloyal  or  so  cruel  as  that," 
said  she.  ' '  But  I  shall  not  be  in  a  hurry.  I  shall  let 
them  eat  their  lunch  in  peace  and  hope. ' ' 

"  Not  much  peace,"  said  he.  "  Her  empty  chair 
will  put  that  to  flight.  I  know  how  it  feels  to  look  at 
her  empty  chair." 

"  Then  you  really  love  her?  "  said  Mrs.  Easter 
field,  much  moved. 

254 


BY    PROXY 

' '  With  every  fiber, ' '  said  he. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  found  herself  much  embarrassed  at 
the  luncheon  table.  She  had  made  her  husband  under 
stand  the  state  of  affairs,  but  had  not  had  time  to  enter 
into  particulars  with  him,  and  she  did  not  find  it  easy 
satisfactorily  to  explain  to  the  company  the  absence  of 
Miss  Asher  without  calling  forth  embarrassing  ques 
tions  as  to  her  return,  and  she  wished  carefully  to 
avoid  telling  them  that  her  guest  was  not  coming  back 
for  the  present.  If  she  made  this  known  then  she 
feared  there  might  be  a  scene  at  the  table. 

Mr.  Hemphill  turned  pale  when,  that  afternoon, 
his  hostess,  in  an  exceedingly  clear  and  plain  manner, 
made  known  to  him  his  fate.  For  a  few  moments  he 
did  not  speak.  Then  he  said  very  quietly:  "  If  she 
had  not,  of  her  own  accord,  told  me  that  she  had  once 
loved  me,  I  should  never  have  dared  to  say  anything 
like  that  to  her." 

"  I  do  not  think  you  need  any  excuse,  Mr.  Hemp- 
hill,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  In  fact,  if  you  loved 
her,  I  do  not  see  how  you  could  help  speaking  after 
what  she  herself  said  to  you. ' ' 

1 '  That  is  true, ' '  he  replied.  ' '  And  I  love  her  with 
all  my  heart !  ' ' 

' '  She  ought  never  to  have  told  you  of  that  girlish 
fancy,"  said  his  hostess.  "  It  was  putting  you  in  a 
very  embarrassing  position,  and  I  am  bound  to  say  to 
you,  Mr.  Hemphill,  that  I  also  am  very  much  to  blame. 
Knowing  all  this,  as  I  did,  I  should  not  have  allowed 
you  to  meet  her. ' ' 

"  Oh,  don't  say  that!  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Hemphill. 
"  Don't  say  that!  Not  for  the  world  would  I  give 

255 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

up  the  memory  of  hearing  her  say  she  once  loved  me ! 
I  don't  care  how  many  years  ago  it  was.  I  am  glad 
you  let  me  come  here.  I  am  glad  she  told  me.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  happiness  I  have  had  in  this 
house.  And  now,  Mrs.  Easterfield,  let  me  ask  you 
one  thing " 

At  this  moment  Mrs.  Easterfield,  who  was  facing 
the  door,  saw  her  husband  enter  the  hall,  and  by  his 
manner  she  knew  he  was  looking  for  her. 

"  Excuse  me,"  she  said  to  Hemphill,  "  I  will  be 
back  in  an  instant. ' ' 

And  she  ran  out.  "  Tom,"  she  cried,  "  you  must 
go  away.  I  can  not  see  you  now.  I  am  very  busy  de 
clining  the  addresses  of  a  suitor,  and  can  not  be  in 
terrupted.  ' ' 

Mr.  Tom  looked  at  her  in  surprise,  although  it  was 
not  often  Mrs.  Easterfield  could  surprise  him.  He  saw 
that  she  was  very  much  in  earnest. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  if  you  are  sure  you  are  going 
to  decline  him  I  won't  interrupt  you.  And  when  you 
have  sealed  his  fate  you  will  find  me  in  my  room.  I 
want  particularly  to  see  you." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  went  back  to  the  library  and 
Hemphill  continued :  "  You  need  not  answer  if  you  do 
not  think  it  is  right, ' '  said  he,  ' '  but  do  you  believe  at 
any  time  she  thought  seriously  of  me?  " 

Mrs.  Easterfield  smiled  as  she  answered:  "  Now, 
you  see  the  advantage  of  an  agent  in  such  matters  as 
this.  You  could  not  have  asked  her  that  question,  or 
if  you  did  she  would  not  answer  you.  And  now  I  am 
going  to  tell  you  that  she  did  have  some  serious  thought 
of  you.  Whatever  encouragement  she  gave  you,  she 

256 


BY    PROXY 

treated  you  fairly.  She  is  a  very  practical  young 
woman " 

"  Excuse  me,"  said  Hemphill  hurriedly,  "  but  if 
you  please,  I  would  rather  you  did  not  tell  me  anything 
more.  Sometimes  it  is  not  well  to  try  to  know  too 
much.  I  can't  talk  now,  Mrs.  Easterfield,  for  I  am 
dreadfully  cut  up,  but  at  the  same  time  I  am  wonder 
fully  proud.  I  don't  know  that  you  can  understand 
this." 

' '  Yes,  I  can, ' '  she  said ;  "  I  understand  it  per 
fectly." 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  he  said.  As  he  was  about 
to  leave  the  room  he  stopped  and  turned  to  Mrs.  Eas 
terfield.  "  Is  she  going  to  marry  Professor  Lancas 
ter?  "  he  asked. 

"  Really,  Mr.  Hemphill,"  she  replied,  "  I  can  not 
say  anything  about  that.  I  do  not  know  any  more 
than  you  do." 

"  Well,  I  hope  she  may,"  he  said.  "  It  would  be 
a  burning  shame  if  she  were  to  accept  that  Austrian ; 
and  as  for  the  other  little  man,  he  is  too  ugly.  You 
must  excuse  me  for  speaking  of  your  friends  in  this 
way,  Mrs.  Easterfield,  but  really  I  should  feel  dread 
fully  if  I  thought  I  had  been  set  aside  for  such  a  queer 
customer  as  he  is. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  did  not  laugh  then;  but  when 
Hemphill  had  gone,  and  she  had  joined  her  husband, 
they  had  a  good  time  together. 

' '  And  so  they  all  recommend  Lancaster, ' '  said  he. 

' '  So  far, ' '  she  answered ;  ' '  but  I  have  yet  to  hear 
what  Mr.  Du  Brant  has  to  say. ' ' 

"  I  think  you  have  had  enough  of  this  discarding 
257 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

business,"  said  Mr.  Tom.  "  You  would  better  leave 
Du  Brant  to  me." 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  she;  "I  promised  Olive.  And, 
besides,  I  think  I  like  it. ' ' 

' '  1  believe  you  do, ' '  said  Mr.  Tom.  ' '  And  now  I 
wrant  to  say  something  important.  It  is  not  right  that 
Broadstone  should  be  given  up  entirely  to  the  affairs 
of  Miss  Asher  and  her  lovers.  I  think,  for  instance, 
that  our  friend  Fox  looks  very  much  dissatisfied. ' ' 

'  *  That  is  because  Olive  is  not  here, ' '  she  replied. 

"  Not.  only  that,"  he  answered.  "  He  loses  her, 
and  does  not  get  anything  else  in  her  place.  Now,  we 
must  make  this  house  lively,  as  it  ought  to  be.  Let  Du 
Brant  off  for  to-day  and  let  us  make  up  a  party  to  go 
out  on  the  river.  We  will  take  two  boats,  and  have 
some  of  the  men  to  do  the  rowing.  Postpone  dinner 
so  we  can  have  a  long  afternoon." 

Mr.  Du  Brant  did  not  go  on  the  river  excursion.  He 
had  some  letters  to  write,  and  begged  to  be  excused. 
He  had  not  asked  when  Miss  Asher  was  expected  back, 
or  anything  about  her  return.  He  did  not  understand 
the  state  of  affairs,  and  was  afraid  he  might  receive 
some  misleading  information.  But  if  she  should  come 
that  afternoon  or  the  next  day  he  determined  to  be  on 
the  spot.  After  that  he  might  not  be  able  to  remain  at 
Broadstone,  and  it  would  be  a  glorious  opportunity  for 
him  if  she  should  come  back  that  afternoon. 

It  was  twilight  when  the  boating  party  returned. 
Under  the  genial  influence  of  Mr.  Tom  and  his  wife 
they  had  all  enjoyed  themselves  as  much  as  it  was 
possible  for  them  to  do  so  without  Olive. 

When  Claude  Locker,  a  little  behind  the  others, 
258 


BY    PROXY 

reached  the  top  of  the  hill  he  perceived,  not  far  away, 
Mr.  Du  Brant  strolling.  These  two  had  not  spoken 
since  the  night  of  the  interrupted  serenade.  Each  of 
them  had  desired  to  avoid  words  or  actions  which 
might  disturb  the  peace  of  this  hospitable  home,  and 
consequently  had  very  successfully  succeeded  in  avoid 
ing  each  other.  But  now  Mr.  Locker  walked  straight 
up  to  the  secretary  of  legation,  holding  out  his  hand. 

' '  Now,  Mr.  Du  Brant, ' '  said  he, ' '  since  we  are  both 
in  the  same  boat,  let  us  shake  hands  and  let  bygones  be 
bygones. ' ' 

But  the  young  Austrian  did  not  take  the  proffered 
hand.  For  a  moment  he  looked  as  though  he  were 
about  to  turn  away  without  taking  any  notice  of 
Locker,  but  he  had  not  the  strength  of  mind  to  do  this. 
He  turned  and  remarked  with  a  scowl  : 

' '  What  do  you  mean  by  same  boat  ?  I  have  noth 
ing  to  do  with  you  on  the  water  or  on  the  land !  ' ' 

Mr.  Locker  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  So  you 
have  not  been  told, ' '  said  he. 

' '  Told  !  ' '  exclaimed  Du  Brant,  now  very  much  in 
terested.  "  Told  what?  " 

"  That  you  will  have  to  find  out,"  said  the  other. 
*  *  It  is  not  my  business  to  tell  you.  But  I  don 't  mind 
saying  that  as  I  have  been  told  I  thought  perhaps  you 
might  have  been." 

"  Told  what?  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Du  Brant  again, 
stepping  up  closer  to  the  other. 

1  i  Don 't  shout  so, ' '  said  Locker ;  ' '  they  will  think 
we  are  quarreling.  Didn't  I  say  I  am  not  the  person 
to  tell  you  anything,  and  if  you  did  not  understand  me 
I  will  say  it  again." 

19  259 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

For  some  seconds  the  Austrian  looked  steadily  at 
his  companion.  Then  he  said,  "  Have  you  been  re 
fused  by  Miss  Asher?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Locker  with  a  sigh,  "  as  that  is  my 
business,  I  suppose  I  can  talk  about  it  if  I  want  to. 
Yes,  I  have." 

Again  Du  Brant  was  silent  for  a  time.  "  Did  she 
tell  you  herself  ?  "  he  asked. 

* '  No,  she  did  not, ' '  was  the  answer.  ' '  She  kindly 
sent  me  word  by  Mrs.  Easterfield.  I  suppose  your 
turn  has  not  come  yet.  I  was  at  the  head  of  the  list. ' ' 
And,  fearing  that  if  he  stayed  longer  he  might  say  too 
much,  Mr.  Locker  walked  slowly  away,  whistling  dis- 
jointedly  as  he  went. 

That  evening  Mrs.  Easterfield  discovered  that  she 
had  been  deprived  of  the  anticipated  pleasure  of  con 
veying  to  Mr.  Du  Brant  the  message  which  Olive  had 
sent  him.  That  gentleman,  unusually  polite  and  soft- 
spoken,  found  her  by  herself,  and  thus  accosted  her: 
"  You  must  excuse  me,  madam,  for  speaking  upon  a 
certain  subject  without  permission  from  you,  but  I 
have  reason  to  believe  that  you  are  the  bearer  of  a  mes 
sage  to  me  from  Miss  Asher. ' ' 

"  How  in  the  world  did  you  find  that  out?  "  she 
asked. 

"  It  was  the — Locker,"  he  answered.  "  I  do  not 
think  it  was  his  intention  to  inform  me  fully;  he  is 
not  a  master  of  words  and  expressions ;  he  is  a  little 
blundering;  but,  from  what  he  said,  I  supposed 
you  were  kind  enough  to  be  the  bearer  of  such  a 
message." 

11  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield;  "  not  being  able  to 
260 


BY    PROXY 

be  here  herself,  Miss  Asher  requested  me  to  say  to  you 
that  she  must  decline ' ' 

"  Excuse  me,  madam,"  he  interrupted,  "  but  it  is 
I  who  decline.  I  bear  toward  you,  madam,  the  great 
est  homage  and  respect,  but  what  I  had  the  honor  to 
say  to  Miss  Asher  I  said  to  her  alone,  and  it  is  only 
from  her  that  it  is  possible  for  me  to  receive  an  answer. 
Therefore,  madam,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  I 
decline  to  be  a  party  to  the  interview  you  so  graciously 
propose.  It  breaks  my  heart,  my  dear  madam,  even 
to  seem  unwilling  to  listen  to  anything  you  might 
deign  to  say  to  me,  but  in  this  case  I  must  be  firm,  I 
must  decline.  Can  you  pardon  me,  dear  madam,  for 
speaking  as  I  have  been  obliged  to  speak  ?  ' ' 

"  Oh,  of  course,"  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  And 
really,  since  you  know  so  much,  it  is  not  necessary  for 
me  to  tell  you  anything  more. ' ' 

* '  Ah, ' '  said  the  diplomat,  with  a  little  bow  and  an 
incredulous  expression,  as  if  the  lady  could  have  no 
idea  what  he  might  yet  know,  "  I  am  so  much  obliged 
to  you !  I  am  so  thankful !  ' ' 


261 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 
Here  we  go!  Lovers  Three! 

THE  three  discarded  lovers  of  Broadstone — all  dis 
carded,  although  one  of  them  would  not  admit  it — 
would  have  departed  the  next  day  had  not  that  day 
been  Sunday,  when  there  were  no  convenient  trains. 
Mr.  Du  Brant  was  due  in  Washington;  Mr.  HemphiJl 
was  needed  very  much  at  his  desk,  especially  since  Mr. 
Easterfield  had  decided  to  spend  a  few  days  with  his 
wife ;  and  Claude  Locker  wanted  to  go.  When  he  had 
finished  the  thing  he  happened  to  be  doing  it  was  his 
habit  immediately  to  begin  something  else.  All  was  at 
an  end  between  him  and  Miss  Asher.  He  acknowl 
edged  this,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  stay  at  Broadstone. 
But,  as  it  could  not  be  helped,  they  all  stayed  over 
Sunday. 

Mr.  Easterfield  planned  an  early  afternoon  expe 
dition  to  a  mission  church  in  the  mountains ;  it  would 
be  a  novel  experience,  and  a  delightful  trip,  and  every 
body  must  go. 

In  the  course  of  the  morning  Mr.  Du  Brant  strolled 
in  the  eastern  parts  of  the  grounds,  and  Mr.  Locker 
strolled  over  that  portion  of  the  lawn  which  lay  to 
the  west.  Mr.  Du  Brant  did  not  meet  with  any  one 

262 


HERE    WE    GO!    LOVERS    THREE! 

with  whom  he  cared  to  talk,  but  Mr.  Locker  was  for 
tunate  enough  to  meet  Miss  Raleigh. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,"  said  he;  "  you  are  the 
person  above  all  other  persons  I  wish  to  talk  to." 

"  It  delights  me  to  hear  that,"  said  the  lady,  her 
face  showing  that  she  spoke  the  truth. 

"  Let  us  go  over  there  and  sit  down,"  said  he. 
' '  Now,  then, ' '  he  continued,  ' '  you  were  present,  Miss 
Raleigh,  at  a  very  peculiar  moment  in  my  life,  a  mo 
mentous  moment,  I  may  say.  You  enjoyed  a  privilege 
— if  you  consider  it  such — not  vouchsafed  to  many 
mortals. ' ' 

"  I  did  consider  it  a  privilege,  you  may  be  sure," 
exclaimed  Miss  Raleigh,  * '  and  I  value  it.  You  do  not 
know  how  highly  I  value  it !  ' : 

' '  You  heard  me  offer  myself,  body  and  soul,  to  the 
lady  I  loved.  You  were  taken  into  our  confidence,  you 
saw  me  laid  upon  the  table — 

11  Oh,  dreadful!  "  cried  the  lady.  "  Don't  put  it 
that  way." 

' '  Well,  then, ' '  said  he, ' '  you  saw  me  postponed  for 
future  consideration.  You  promised  you  would  re 
gard  everything  you  heard  as  confidential ;  by  so  doing 
you  enabled  me  to  speak  when  otherwise  I  might  not 
have  dared  to  do  so.  I  am  deeply  grateful  to  you ;  and, 
as  you  already  know  so  much  about  my  hopes  and  my 
aspirations,  I  think  it  right  you  should  know  all  there 
is  to  know." 

The  conscience  of  Miss  Raleigh  stirred  itself  very 
vigorously  within  her,  and  her  voice  was  much  sub 
dued  as  she  said : 

' '  I  am  sure  you  are  very  good. ' ' 
263 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Locker,  "  the  proposal  you 
heard  me  make  has  been  declined.  I  am  discarded; 
and  not  directly  in  a  face-to-face  interview,  but 
through  another  by  a  message.  It  would  have  been  in 
convenient  for  Miss  Asher  personally  to  communicate 
the  intelligence,  so  as  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  coming  this 
way  she  kindly  consented  to  convey  the  intelligence." 

"  I  declare,"  exclaimed  Miss  Raleigh,  "  I  had  not 
heard  of  that!  Mrs.  Easterfield  made  me  her  confi 
dant  in  the  early  stages  of  this  affair,  or  I  should  say, 
these  affairs.  But  she  has  not  told  me  that." 

'l  She  will  doubtless  give  herself  that  pleasure 
later,"  said  Locker. 

"  No,"  said  she,  "  she  will  not  think  any  more 
about  it.  I  am  of  no  further  use.  And  may  I  ask  if 
you  know  anything  about  the  two  other  gentlemen  ?  ' : 

*  *  Both  turned  down, ' '  said  Locker. 

' '  I  might  have  supposed  that, ' '  answered  the  lady ; 
"  for  if  Miss  Asher  would  not  take  you  she  certainly 
would  not  be  content  with  either  of  them. ' ' 

"  With  all  my  heart  I  thank  you,"  said  Locker 
warmly.  "  Such  words  are  welcome  to  a  wounded 
heart." 

For  a  moment  Miss  Raleigh  was  silent,  then  she 
remarked,  "  It  is  very  hard  to  be  discarded." 

'  *  You  are  right  there !  ' '  exclaimed  Locker.  ' '  But 
how  do  you  happen  to  know  anything  about  it?  " 

"  I  have  been  discarded  myself,"  she  answered. 

The  larger  eye  of  Mr.  Locker  grew  still  larger,  the 
other  endeavored  to  emulate  its  companion 's  size ;  and 
his  mouth  became  a  rounded  opening.  * '  Discarded  ?  ' ' 
he  cried. 

264 


HERE    WE    GO!    LOVERS    THREE! 

11  Yes,"  said  she. 

The  countenance  of  the  young  man  was  now  bright 
with  interest  and  curiosity.  "  I  don't  suppose  it 
would  be  right  to  ask  you, ' '  said  he,  * '  even  although  I 
have  taken  you  so  completely  into  my  confidence — but, 
never  mind.  Don't  think  of  it.  Of  course,  I  would 
not  propose  such  a  question." 

'  *  Of  course  not, ' '  said  she, ' '  you  are  too  manly  for 
that."  And  then  she  was  silent  again.  Naturally 
she  hesitated  to  reveal  the  secrets  of  her  heart,  and  to 
a  gentleman  with  whom  her  acquaintance  was  of  such 
recent  date ;  but  she  earnestly  wanted  to  repose  confi 
dence  in  another,  as  well  as  to  receive  it,  and  it  was  so 
seldom,  so  very  seldom,  that  such  an  opportunity  came 
to  her. 

"  I  do  not  know, ' '  she  said,  ' '  that  I  ought  to,  but 
still— 

"  Oh,  don't,  if  you  don't  want  to,"  said  Locker. 

' '  But  I  think  I  do  want  to, ' '  she  replied.  ' '  You 
are  so  kind,  so  good,  and  you  have  confided  in  me. 
Yes,  I  was  once  discarded,  not  exactly  by  word  of 
mouth,  or  even  by  message,  but  still  discarded. ' ' 

"  A  stranger  to  me,  of  course,"  said  Locker,  his 
whole  form  twisting  itself  into  an  interrogation-point. 

"  No,"  said  she,  "  and  as  I  have  begun  I  will  go 
on.  It  was  Mr.  Hemphill. ' ' 

"  What!  "  he  exclaimed.     "  That— 

' '  Yes,  it  was  he, ' '  said  she,  speaking  slowly,  and  in 
a  low  voice.  ' '  He  was  Mr.  Easterfield's  secretary  and 
I  was  Mrs.  Easterfield's  secretary,  and,  of  course,  we 
were  thrown  much  together.  He  has  very  good  quali 
ties  ;  I  do  not  hesitate  now  to  say  that ;  and  they  im- 

265 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

pressed  themselves  upon  me.  In  every  possible  way  I 
endeavored  to  make  things  pleasant  for  him.  I  do  not 
believe  that  when  he  was  at  work  he  ever  wanted  a 
glass  of  cold  water  that  he  did  not  find  it  within  reach. 
I  early  discovered  that  he  was  very  fond  of  cold 
water. ' ' 

"  A  most  commendable  dissipation,"  interrupted 
Locker. 

"  He  had  no  dissipations,"  said  Miss  Raleigh. 
"  His  character  was  unimpeachable.  In  very  many 
ways  I  was  attracted  to  him,  in  very  many  ways  I  en 
deavored  to  make  life  pleasant  for  him;  and  I  am 
afraid  that  sometimes  I  neglected  Mrs.  Easterfield's 
interests  so  that  I  might  do  little  things  for  him,  such 
as  dusting,  keeping  his  ink-pots  full,  providing  fresh 
blotting-paper,  and  many  other  trifling  services  which 
devotion  readily  suggested." 

Locker  heaved  a  sigh  of  commiseration  which  she 
mistook  for  one  of  sympathy. 

"  I  will  not  go  into  particulars,"  she  continued, 
"  but  at  last  he  discovered  that — well,  I  will  be  plain 
with  you — he  discovered  that  I  loved  him.  Then,  sir — 
it  is  humiliating  to  me  to  say  it,  but  I  will  not  flinch — 
he  discarded  me.  He  did  not  use  words,  but  his  man 
ner  was  sufficient.  Never  again  did  I  go  near  his 
desk,  never  did  I  tender  him  the  slightest  service.  It 
was  a  terrible  blow!  It  was  humiliating!  " 

' '  I  should  think  so, ' '  said  Locker,  '  *  from  him !  ' ' 

"  But  I  will  say  no  more,"  she  remarked  with  a 
sigh.  "  I  have  told  you  what  you  have  heard  that 
you  may  understand  how  thoroughly  I  sympathize 
with  you,  for  all  is  over  with  me  in  that  direction,  as 

266 


HERE    WE    GO!    LOVERS    THREE! 

I  suppose  all  is  over  with  you  in  your  direction.  And 
now  I  must  go,  for  this  long  conference  may  be  re 
marked.  But  before  I  go,  I  will  say  that  if  ever 
you ' ' 

'' '  Oh,  no,  no,  no !  "  interrupted  Locker,  ' '  it  would 
not  do  at  all !  I  realty  have  begun  to  believe  that  I 
was  cut  out  for  a  bachelor. ' ' 

1 '  What !  ' '  said  Miss  Raleigh,  with  great  severity. 
"  Do  you  suppose,  sir,  that  I " 

"  Not  at  all,  not  at  all  I  "  cried  Locker.  "  Not  for 
one  moment  do  I  suppose  that  you " 

' i  If  for  one  moment, ' '  said  she,  *  *  I  had  imagined 

you  would  suppose " 

'  But  I  assure  you,  Miss  Raleigh,  I  never  did  sup 
pose  that  you  would  imagine  I  would  think — but  if 
you  do  suppose  I  thought  you  imagined  I  could  pos 
sibly  conceive " 

' '  But  I  really  did  think, "  said  Miss  Raleigh,  speak 
ing  more  gently.  "  But  if  I  was  wrong " 

"  Nay,  think  no  more  about  it,"  Locker  inter 
rupted,  "  and  let  us  be  friends  again." 

He  offered  her  his  hand,  which  she  shook  warmly, 
and  then  departed. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  Lancaster  was  not  to 
leave  Broadstone  on  the  next  day.  He  had  expected 
to  do  so,  but  Mr.  Easterfield  had  planned  for  a  day's 
fishing  for  himself,  Mr.  Fox,  and  the  professor,  and 
he  would  not  let  the  latter  off.  The  ladies  had  ac 
cepted  an  invitation  to  luncheon  that  day ;  the  next  day 
some  new  visitors  were  expected ;  and  in  order  not  to 
interfere  with  Mr.  Easterfield 's  plans,  evidently  in 
tended  to  restore  to  Broadstone  some  of  the  social 

267 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

harmony  which  had  recently  been  so  disturbed,  Dick 
consented  to  stay,  although  he  really  wanted  to 
go.  He  could  not  forget  that  his  vacation  was 
passing. 

"  Very  well,  then,"  Mrs.  Easterfield  remarked  to 
him  that  Sunday  evening, ' '  if  you  must  go  on  Tuesday, 
I  suppose  you  must,  although  I  think  it  would  be  bet 
ter  for  you  if  I  were  to  keep  my  eye  on  you  for  a  little 
while  longer." 

' '  Perhaps  so, ' '  said  Lancaster,  *  *  but  the  time  has 
come  when  curb-bits,  cages,  and  good  advice  are  not  for 
me.  I  must  burst  loose  from  everything  and  go  my 
way,  right  or  wrong,  whatever  it  may  be." 

"  I  see  that, ' '  said  she ;  ' '  but  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  curbed  bit  and  all  that,  you  would  be  leaving  this 
place  a  discarded  lover,  like  the  rest  of  them.  They 
depart  with  their  love-affairs  finished  forever,  ended ; 
you  go  as  free  to  woo,  to  win,  or  to  lose  as  you  ever 
were.  And  you  owe  this  entirely  to  me,  so  whatever 
else  you  do,  don 't  sneer  at  my  curbs  and  my  cages ;  to 
them  you  owe  your  liberty." 

The  professor  fully  appreciated  everything  she  had 
done  for  him,  and  told  her  so  earnestly  and  warmly. 
But  she  interrupted  his  grateful  expressions. 

' '  It  would  have  been  very  hard  on  me, ' '  she  said, 
"  if  Olive  had  asked  me  to  carry  to  you  the  news  of 
your  rejection.  That  is  what  I  did  for  the  others,  I 
suppose  you  know." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Lancaster;  "  Locker  told  me." 

"  I  might  have  supposed  that,"  said  she.  "  And 
now  I  feel  bound  to  tell  you  also,  although  it  is  not  a 
message,  that  Olive  does  not  expect  to  see  you  at  her 

268 


HERE    WE    GO!    LOVERS    THREE! 

uncle's  house.  She  infers  that  you  are  going  to  con 
tinue  your  vacation  journey." 

"  I  have  made  my  plans  for  my  journey,"  said  he, 
"  and  I  do  not  think,  Mrs.  Easterfield,  that  you  will 
care  to  have  me  talk  them  over  with  you."' 

"  No,  indeed,"  she  replied;  "  I  do  not  want  to 
hear  a  word  about  them,  but  I  am  going  to  give  you  one 
piece  of  advice,  whether  you  like  it  or  not.  Don't  be 
in  a  hurry  to  ask  her  to  marry  you.  At  this  moment 
she  does  not  want  to  marry  anybody.  Her  position 
has  entirely  changed.  She  wanted  to  marry  so  that 
her  plans  might  be  settled  before  her  father  and  his 
new  wife  arrive ;  and  now  she  considers  that  they  are 
settled.  So  be  careful.  It  is  true  that  the  objections 
she  formerly  had  to  you  are  removed,  but  before  you 
ask  her  to  marry  you,  you  should  seriously  ask  yourself 
what  reason  there  is  she  should  do  so.  She  does  not 
know  you  very  well ;  she  is  not  interested  in  you ;  and  I 
am  very  sure  she  is  not  in  love  with  you.  Now  you 
know,  for  I  have  told  you  so,  that  I  would  be  delighted 
to  see  you  two  married.  I  believe  you  would  suit  each 
other  admirably,  but  although  you  may  agree  with  me 
in  this  opinion,  I  am  quite  sure  she  does  not ;  at  least, 
not  yet.  Now,  this  is  all  I  am  going  to  say,  except  that 
you  have  my  very  best  wishes  that  you  may  get  her. ' ' 

"  I  shall  never  forget  that,"  said  he,  "  but  I  see  I 
am  not  to  be  free  from  the  memory,  at  least,  of  the  curb 
and  the  cage." 

After  breakfast  on  Monday  the  three  discarded 
lovers  departed  in  a  dog-cart,  Mr.  Du  Brant  in  front 
with  the  driver,  and  Claude  Locker  and  Hemphill  be 
hind.  For  some  minutes  the  party  was  silent.  If  cir- 

269 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

cumstances  had  permitted  they  would  have  gone  sepa 
rately. 

As  long  as  he  could  see  the  mansion  of  Broadstone, 
Claude  Locker  spoke  no  word.  When  the  time  had 
come  to  go  he  had  not  wanted  to  go.  When  taking 
leave  of  Dick  Lancaster  he  had  congratulated  that 
favored  young  man  upon  the  fact  that  he  had  not 
been  rejected,  and  had  assured  him  that  if  he  had  re 
mained  at  Broadstone  he  would  have  done  his  best  to 
back  him  up  as  he  had  said  he  would. 

Hemphill  was  not  inclined  to  talk.  Of  course, 
Locker  did  not  care  to  converse  with  the  young  diplo 
mat,  and  consequently  he  found  himself  bored,  and  to 
relieve  his  feelings  he  burst  into  song.  His  words  were 
impromptu,  and  although  the  verse  was  not  very  good, 
it  was  very  impressive.  It  began  as  follows : 

"  Here  we  go, 

Lovers  three. 

All  steeped  deep 

In  miseree." 

At  this  Mr.  Hemphill  turned  and  looked  at  him, 
while  a  deep  grunt  came  from  the  front  seat,  but  the 
singer  kept  on  without  much  attention  to  meter,  and 
none  at  all  to  tune. 

"This  is  so, 
Here  we  go, 
Flabbergasted, 
Hopes  all  blasted, 
Flags  half-masted. 
While  it  lasted, 
We  poor " 

( '  Look  here, ' '  cried  Du  Brant,  turning  round  sud 
denly,  "  I  beg  you  desist  that.  You  are  insulting. 

270 


HERE    WE    GO!    LOVERS    THREE! 

And  what  you  say  is  not  true,  as  regards  me  at  least. 
You  can  sing  for  yourself. ' ' 

"  Not  true!  "  cried  Locker.  "  Oh,  ho,  oh  ho! 
Perhaps  you  have  forgotten  yourself,  kind  sir. ' ' 

This  little  speech  seemed  to  make  Du  Brant  very 
angry,  and  he  fairly  shouted  at  Locker:  "  No,  I 
haven't  forgotten  myself,  and  I  have  not  forgotten 
you !  You  have  insulted  me  before,  and  I  should  like 
to  make  you  pay  for  it !  I  should  like  to  have  satis 
faction  from  you,  sir !  ' ' 

"  That  sounds  well,"  cried  Locker.  "  Do  you 
mean  to  fight  ?  ' : 

' '  I  want  the  satisfaction  due  to  a  gentleman, ' '  an 
swered  the  young  Austrian. 

"  Good,"  cried  Locker,  "  that  would  suit  me  ex 
actly.  It  would  brighten  me  up.  Let's  do  it  now.  I 
am  not  going  to  stop  at  Washington,  and  this  is  the 
only  time  I  can  give  you.  Driver,  can  we  get  to  the 
station  in  time  if  we  stop  a  little  while  ?  ' : 

The  person  addressed  was  a  young  negro  who  had 
become  intensely  interested  in  the  conversation. 

"  Oh,  yes,  sah,"  he  answered.  "  We'll  git  dar 
twenty  minutes  before  de  train  does,  and  if  you  takes 
half  an  hour  I  can  whip  up.  That  train's  mostly  late, 
anyway. ' ' 

"  All  right,"  cried  Locker.  "  And  now,  sir,  how 
shall  we  fight  ?  What  have  you  got  to  fight  with  ?  ' ' 

"  This  is  folly,"  growled  Du  Brant.  "  I  have 
nothing  to  fight  with.  I  do  not  fight  with  fists,  like  you 
Americans. ' ' 

' '  Haven 't  you  a  penknife  ?  ' '  coolly  asked  Locker. 
' '  If  not,  I  daresay  Mr.  Hemphill  will  lend  you  one. ' ' 

271 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Du  Brant  now  fairly  trembled  with  anger. 
* '  When  I  fight, ' '  said  he,  ' '  I  fight  like  a  gentleman ; 
with  a  sword  or  a  pistol. " 

"  I  am  sorry,"  said  Locker,  "  but  if  I  remembered 
to  bring  my  sword  and  pistol  I  must  have  put  them  in 
the  bottom  of  my  trunk,  and  that  has  gone  on  to  the 
station.  Have  you  two  pistols  or  swords  with  you  ?  Or 
do  you  think  you  could  get  sufficient  satisfaction  out 
of  a  couple  of  piles  of  stones  that  we  could  hurl  at 
each  other?  " 

Du  Brant  made  no  English  answer  to  this,  but  ut 
tered  some  savage  remarks  in  French. 

"  Do  you  understand  what  all  that  means?  "  in 
quired  Locker  of  Hemphill,  who  had  been  quietly 
listening  to  what  had  been  going  on. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  other,  "  he  is  cursing  you  up  hill, 
and  down  dale. ' ' 

' '  Oh, ' '  said  Locker,  l '  it  sounds  to  me  as  if  he  were 
calculating  his  last  week's  expenses.  But  when  he 
gets  to  French  cursing,  I  drop  him.  I  can't  fight  him 
that  way." 

The  colored  boy  now  showed  that  he  was  very  much 
disappointed.  He  had  expected  the  pleasure  of  a  fight, 
and  he  was  afraid  he  was  going  to  lose  it. 

' '  I  tell  you,  sah, ' '  he  said  to  Locker,  ' '  why  don 't 
you  try  kick-shins  ?  Do  you  know  what  kick-shins  is  ? 
You  don't  know  what  kick-shins  is?  Well,  kick-shins 
is  this :  one  fellow  stands  in  front  of  the  other  fellow, 
and  one  takes  hold  of  the  collar  of  the  other  fellow,  and 
the  other  fellow  takes  hold  of  his  collar,  and  then  they 
kicks  each  other's  shins,  and  the  one  what  squeals  fust, 
he 's  licked,  and  the  other  one  gits  the  gal.  You  've  got 

272 


HERE    WE    GO!    LOVERS    THREE! 

pretty  thin  shoes,  sah,"  addressing  Du  Brant,  "  and 
your  feet  ain  't  half  as  big  as  his  'n,  but  your  toes  is 
more  p'inted." 

"No  kick-shins  for  me,"  said  Locker.  "  I've  got 
to  be  economical  about  my  clothes. ' ' 

Du  Brant's  rage  now  became  ungovernable.  "  Do 
you  apologize, ' '  he  cried,  * '  or  I  take  you  by  the  throat, 
and  I  strangle  you. ' ' 

Hemphill,  who  had  been  smiling  mildly  at  the  kick- 
shin  proposition,  now  turned  himself  about.  "  You 
will  not  do  that, ' '  he  said,  '  *  and  if  you  don 't  sit  quiet 
and  keep  your  mouth  shut,  I'll  toss  you  out  of  this 
cart,  and  make  you  walk  the  rest  of  the  way  to  the 
station. ' ' 

As  Hemphill  looked  quite  big  and  strong  enough  to 
execute  this  threat,  and  as  he  was  too  quiet  a  man  to  be 
ignored,  Du  Brant  turned  his  face  to  the  horse,  and 
said  no  more. 

' '  I  did  not  know  you  were  such  a  trump !  ' '  cried 
Locker.  "  Give  me  your  hand.  I  should  hate  to  be 
strangled  by  a  foreigner !  ' : 

When  they  took  the  train  Du  Brant  went  by  him 
self  into  the  smoking-car,  and  Locker  and  Hemphill 
had  a  seat  together. 

*  *  Do  you  know, ' '  said  Locker,  ' '  I  am  beginning  to 
like  you,  although  I  must  admit  that  before  this  morn 
ing  I  can  remember  no  feeling  of  the  sort. ' ' 

"  That  is  not  surprising,"  said  Hemphill.  "  A 
man  is  not  generally  fond  of  his  rival. ' ? 

' '  We  will  let  it  go  at  that, ' '  said  Locker, ' '  we  '11  let 
it  go  at  that !  I  should  not  wonder,  if  we  had  all 
stayed  at  Broadstone;  and  if  the  central  object  of 

273 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

interest  had  also  remained;  and,  if  I  had  failed,  as 
I  have  failed,  to  make  the  proper  impression ;  and  if 
the  professor,  whom  I  promised  to  back  up  in  case 
I  should  find  myself  out  of  the  combat,  should  also 
have  failed;  I  should  not  wonder  if  I  had  backed 
up  you." 


274 


CHAPTER    XXIX 

Two  Pieces  of  News 

IT  was  nearly  two  weeks  after  Mrs.  Easterfield 
drove  away  from  the  captain's  toll-gate  before  she 
went  back  there  again.  There  were  many  reasons  for 
thus  depriving  herself  of  Olive's  society.  Mr.  Tom 
had  stayed  with  her  for  an  unusually  long  time;  a 
house  full  of  visitors,  mostly  relatives,  had  succeeded 
the  departed  lovers,  and  Foxes ;  and,  besides,  Olive  was 
so  very  busy  and  so  very  happy — as  she  learned  from 
many  little  notes — cleaning  the  house  from  garret  to 
cellar,  and  loving  her  uncle  better  every  day,  that  it 
really  would  have  been  a  misdemeanor  to  interfere 
with  her  ardent  pursuits. 

But  now  Olive  had  written  that  she  wanted  to  tell 
her  a  lot  of  things  which  could  not  go  into  a  letter,  and 
so  the  Broadstone  carriage  stopped  again  at  the  toll- 
gate. 

Two  great  things  had  Olive  to  tell,  and  she  was 
really  glad  that  her  uncle  was  not  at  home  so  that  she 
might  get  at  once  to  the  telling. 

In  the  first  place,  old  Mr.  Port  was  dead,  and  Cap 
tain  Asher  was  in  great  trouble  about  this.  Of  course, 
he  could  not  keep  away  from  the  deathbed  of  his  old 
friend,  nor  could  he  neglect  to  do  all  honor  to  his 
20  275 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

memory,  but  it  was  a  terrible  thing  for  him  to  have  to 
go  into  the  house  where  Maria  Port  lived.  After  what 
had  happened  it  was  almost  too  much  for  his  courage, 
although  he  was  a  brave  man.  But  he  had  conquered 
his  feelings,  and  he  was  there  now.  The  funeral  would 
be  to-morrow. 

When  Mrs.  Easterfield  heard  all  that  Olive  had  to 
tell  her  about  Maria  Port,  her  heart  went  out  to  that 
brave  man  who  kept  the  toll-gate. 

The  next  thing  that  Olive  had  to  tell  was  that  she 
had  heard  from  her  father,  who  wrote  that  he  would 
soon  arrive  in  this  country;  that  he  would  then  go 
West,  where  he  would  marry  Olive's  former  school 
mate  ;  and  that,  on  their  wedding  tour,  he  would  make 
a  little  visit  at  the  tollhouse  so  that  Olive  might  see  her 
new  mother. 

"  Now,  isn't  this  enough,"  cried  Olive,  "  to  make 
any  girl  spread  her  wings  and  fly  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth  ?  But  I  have  no  wings ;  they  have  all  gone 
away  in  a  dog-cart.  But  I  don't  feel  about  that  as  I 
used  to  feel, ' '  she  continued,  a  little  hardness  coming 
into  her  face.  * '  I  am  settled  now  just  the  same  as  if  I 
were  married,  and  father  and  Edith  Malcolmsen  may 
come  just  as  soon  as  they  please.  They  shall  make  no 
plans  for  me ;  I  am  going  to  stay  here  with  Uncle  John. 
This  house  is  mine  now,  and  I  am  seriously  thinking  of 
having  it  painted.  I  shall  stay  here  just  as  if  I  were 
one  of  those  trees,  and  my  father  and  my  new 
mother — 

Here  tears  came  into  Olive's  eyes  and  Mrs.  Easter- 
field  stopped  her. 

'*  Olive,"  said  she,  "  I  will  give  you  a  piece  of  ad- 
276 


TWO    PIECES    OF    NEWS 

vice.  When  your  father  and  his  -young  wife  come 
here,  treat  her  exactly  as  if  she  were  your  old  friend. 
If  you  do  so  I  think  you  will  get  along  very  well.  This 
is  partly  selfish  advice,  for  I  greatly  desire  the  oppor 
tunity  to  treat  your  father  hospitably.  He  was  my 
friend  when  I  was  a  girl,  you  remember,  and  I  looked 
up  to  him  with  very  great  admiration." 

And  so  these  two  friends  sat  and  talked,  and  talked, 
and  talked  until  it  was  positively  shameful,  consider 
ing  that  the  Broadstone  horses  were  accustomed  to  be 
fed  and  watered  at  noon,  and  that  the  coachman  was 
very  hungry. 

When,  at  last,  Mrs.  Easterfield  drove  home,  and  it 
must  have  been  three  in  the  afternoon,  she  left  Olive 
very  much  comforted,  even  in  regard  to  the  unfor 
tunate  obligations  which  had  fallen  upon  her  uncle. 
For  now  that  her  old  father  had  gone,  all  intercourse 
with  the  Port  woman  would  cease. 

But  in  her  own  mind  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  not  so 
very  much  comforted.  It  was  all  well  enough  to  talk 
about  Olive  and  her  uncle  and  the  happiness  and 
safety  of  the  home  he  had  given  her,  but  that  sort  of 
thing  could  not  last  very  long.  He  was  an  elderly 
man  and  she  was  a  girl.  In  the  natural  course  of 
events,  she  would  probably  be  left  alone  while  she  was 
very  young.  She  would  then  be  alone,  for  her  father 's 
wife  could  never  be  a  mother  to  her  when  he  was  at 
sea,  and  their  home  would  never  be  a  home  for  her 
when  he  was  on  shore.  What  Olive  wanted,  in  Mrs. 
Easterfield 's  opinion,  was  a  husband.  An  uncle,  such 
as  Captain  Asher,  was  very  charming,  but  he  was  not 
enough. 

277 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

During  this  pleasant  afternoon,  when  Captain 
Asher  was  in  town  attending  to  some  arrangements  for 
the  burial  of  Mr.  Port,  Miss  Maria  was  sitting  dis 
creetly  alone  in  her  darkened  chamber.  She  had  a 
great  many  things  to  think  about,  and  if  she  had  al 
lowed  her  conscience  full  freedom  of  action,  there 
would  have  been  much  more  upon  her  mind.  She 
might  have  been  troubled  by  the  recollection  that  since 
her  father's  very  determined  treatment  of  her  when 
she  had  endeavored  to  fix  herself  upon  the  affections  of 
Captain  Asher,  she  had  so  conducted  herself  toward 
her  venerable  parent  that  she  had  actually  nagged  the 
life  out  of  him;  and  that  had  she  been  the  dutiful 
daughter  she  ought  to  have  been  he  might  have  been 
living  yet.  But  thoughts  of  this  nature  were  not  com 
mon  to  Maria  Port.  She  had  made  herself  sure  that 
the  will  was  all  right,  and  he  was  very  old.  There  was 
a  time  for  all  things,  and  Maria  was  now  about  to  begin 
life  for  herself.  To  her  plans  for  this  new  life  she  now 
gave  almost  her  sole  attention. 

She  had  one  great  object  in  view  which  overshad 
owed  everything  else,  and  this  was  to  marry  Captain 
Asher.  This  she  could  have  done  before,  she  firmly 
believed,  had  it  not  been  for  her  old  father  and  that 
horrid  girl,  the  captain's  niece.  As  for  the  elderly 
man  who  kept  the  toll-gate  she  did  not  mind  him.  If 
not  interfered  with,  she  was  sure  she  could  make  him 
marry  her,  and  then  the  great  ambition  of  her  life 
would  be  satisfied. 

Unpretentious  as  was  her  establishment  in  town,  she 
did  not  care  to  spend  the  money  necessary  to  keep  it  up, 
and  although  she  was  often  an  unkind  woman,  she  was 

278 


TWO    PIECES    OF    NEWS 

not  cruel  enough  to  think  of  inflicting  herself  as  a 
boarder  upon  any  housewife  in  the  town.  No,  the  toll- 
gate  was  the  home  for  her ;  and  if  Captain  Asher  chose 
to  inflict  himself  upon  her  for  a  few  years  longer,  she 
would  try  to  endure  it. 

One  obstacle  to  her  plans  was  now  gone,  and  she 
must  devote  herself  to  the  work  of  getting  rid  of 
the  other  one.  While  Olive  Asher  remained  at 
the  tollhouse  there  was  no  chance  for  her  in  that 
quarter. 

The  funeral  was  over,  and  when  the  bereaved  Miss 
Port  took  leave  of  Captain  Asher  she  exhibited  a  quiet 
gratitude  which  was  very  becoming  and  suitable.  Dur 
ing  the  short  time  when  he  had  visited  the  house  every 
day  she  had  showed  him  no  resentment  on  account  of 
what  had  passed  between  them,  and  had  treated  him 
very  much  as  if  he  had  been  one  of  her  father's  old 
friends  with  whom  she  was  not  very  well  acquainted 
and  to  whom  she  was  indebted  for  various  services  con 
nected  with  the  sad  occasion. 

When  he  took  final  leave  of  her  he  shook  her  hand, 
and  as  he  did  so  he  gave  her  a  peculiar  grasp  which,  in 
his  own  mind,  indicated  that  he  and  she  had  now  noth 
ing  more  to  do  with  each  other,  and  that  the  acquaint 
ance  was  adjourned  without  day,  She  bade  him  a 
simple  farewell,  and  as  he  left  the  house  she  grinned  at 
his  broad  back.  This  grin  expressed,  to  herself  at 
least,  that  the  old  and  rather  faulty  acquaintance  was 
at  an  end,  and  that  the  new  connection  which  she  in 
tended  to  establish  between  herself  and  him  would  be 
upon  an  entirely  different  basis. 

He  did  not  ask  her  if  there  was  anything  more  that 
279 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

he  could  do  for  her,  for  he  did  not  desire  to  mix  him 
self  up  with  her  affairs,  which  he  knew  she  was  emi 
nently  able  to  manage  for  herself,  and  it  was  with  a 
deep  breath  of  relief  that  he  got  into  his  buggy  and 
drove  home  to  his  toll-gate. 


280 


CHAPTER    XXX 

By  the  Sea 

EN  Lieutenant  Asher  and  his  bride  arrived  at 
his  brother's  toll-gate  they  Were  surprised  as  well  as 
delighted  by  the  cordiality  of  their  greeting.  Each 
of  them  had  expected  a  little  stiffness  during  the  first 
interview,  but  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind,  although 
young  Mrs.  Asher  was  bound  to  admit,  when  she  took 
time  to  think  upon  the  subject,  that  Olive  treated  her 
exactly  as  if  she  had  been  a  dear  old  schoolmate,  and 
not  at  all  as  her  father 's  wife.  This  made  things  very 
pleasant  and  easy  at  that  time,  she  thought,  although 
it  might  have  to  be  corrected  a  little  after  a  while. 

Things  were  all  very  pleasant,  and  there  never  had 
been  so  much  talk  at  the  tollhouse  since  the  first  stone 
of  its  foundation  had  been  laid.  The  day  after  the 
arrival  of  the  newly  married  couple  Mrs.  Easterfield 
called  upon  them,  and  invited  the  whole  family  to 
dinner. 

"  I  have  never  realized  how  much  she  must  have 
thought  of  my  parents !  ' '  said  Olive  to  herself,  as  she 
gazed  upon  her  father  and  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  They 
are  so  very  glad  to  see  each  other!  " 

She  did  not  know  that  Lieutenant  Asher  had  been 
to  the  present  Mrs.  Easterfield  almost  as  much  of  a 

281 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

divinity  as  Mr.  Hemphill  had  been  to  her  girlish  fancy ; 
the  difference  being  that  the  young  cadet  was  well 
aware  of  the  adoration  of  this  child,  not  yet  in  long 
dresses,  and  greatly  enjoyed  and  encouraged  it. 
When,  a  few  years  later,  the  child  heard  of  his  mar 
riage,  she  had  outgrown  the  love  with  the  lengthening 
of  the  skirts.  But  she  had  a  tender  recollection  of  it 
which  she  cherished. 

The  dinner  the  next  day  was  a  great  success,  and 
after  it  the  lieutenant  and  Mrs.  Easterfield  earnestly 
discussed  Olive  when  they  had  the  opportunity  for  a 
tete-a-tete.  She  was  so  much  to  each  of  them,  and  he 
was  grateful  that  his  daughter  had  fallen  under  the  in 
fluence  of  this  old  friend,  now  a  charming  woman. 

"  She  is  so  beautiful,"  said  the  lady,  "  that  she 
ought  to  be  married  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  most 
suitable  bachelor  in  the  United  States." 

' '  Not  so  fast !  Not  so  fast !  ' '  said  the  lieutenant. 
"  Edith  and  I  are  going  to  housekeeping  very  soon, 
and  then  we  shall  want  Olive. ' ' 

Mrs.  Easterfield  smiled,  but  made  no  reply. 

When  the  lieutenant  and  his  wife,  with  Olive,  came 
a  few  days  afterward  to  make  their  proper  dinner  call, 
he  found  an  occasion  to  speak  to  their  hostess. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  he,  "  that  this  is  a  strange 
girl  of  mine  ?  She  positively  refuses  to  come  and  live 
with  us.  We  had  counted  upon  having  her,  and  had 
made  all  our  arrangements  for  it.  She  is  as  good  and 
nice  as  she  can  be,  but  we  can  not  move  her." 

' '  You  ought  not  to  try, ' '  said  Mrs.  Easterfield ; ' '  it 
would  be  a  shame  for  her  to  go  away  and  leave  her 
uncle.  You  have  one  young  lady,  and  you  should  not 

282 


BY    THE    SEA 

ask  for  both.  Olive  must  marry,  and  the  captain  must 
go  and  live  with  her. ' ' 

"  Have  you  arranged  all  that?  "  said  he.  "  I  re 
member  you  were  a  great  schemer  when  quite  a  little 
girl." 

' '  I  am  as  great  as  ever, ' '  said  she.  ' i  And  I  have 
selected  the  gentleman. ' ' 

"  Oh,  ho!  "  cried  the  lieutenant.  "  And  is  that 
all  settled  ?  Olive  should  have  told  me  that. ' ' 

1 '  She  could  not  do  it, ' '  said  Mrs.  Easterfield ;  "  f or 
it  is  not  all  settled.  There  are  some  obstacles  in  the 
way ;  and  the  greatest  of  them  is  that  she  does  not  love 
him." 

The  lieutenant  laughed.  ' '  Then  that  is  settled.  I 
know  Olive." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  flushed,  and  then  laughed.  "  I 
doubt  that  knowledge.  It  is  certain  you  do  not  know 
me !  The  young  man  loves  her  with  all  his  heart ; 
there  is  no  objection  to  him ;  and  I  am  most  earnestly 
in  favor  of  the  match." 

"  Ah!  "  said  the  lieutenant,  with  a  bow;  "  if 
that  is  the  case,  I  must  get  a  pencil  and  paper  and 
calculate  what  I  can  give  her  for  her  trousseau.  I 
hope  the  wedding  will  not  come  off  very  soon,  for  I 
am  decidedly  short  at  present,  on  account  of  recent 
matrimonial  expenses.  Would  you  mind  telling  me 
his  name?  Is  he  naval?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  she;  "  he  is  pedagogy." 

' '  What !  "  he  cried,  his  eyes  wide  open. 

Then  she  laughed  and  told  him  all  about  Dick  Lan 
caster. 

"  Of  course,"  concluded  Mrs.  Easterfield,  "  I  can 
283 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

not  ask  you  not  to  speak  to  anybody  about  what  I 
have  told  you,  but  I  do  hope  you  will  prevent  its  get 
ting  to  Olive's  ears.  I  am  afraid  it  would  make  a 
breach  between  us  if  she  knew  that  I  was  trying  to 
make  a  match  for  her.  And,  you  see,  that  is  exactly 
what  I  am  doing. ' ' 

' '  And  you  are  right, ' '  said  the  lieutenant ;  ' '  and 
what  is  more,  I  am  with  you!  You  don't  know,"  he 
added  in  a  softer  tone,  * '  how  grateful  I  am  to  you  for 
your  care  of  Olive  now  that  my  dear  wife  is  gone !  ' ' 

For  the  moment  he  totally  forgot  that  his  dear 
wife  had  merely  gone  to  the  edge  of  the  bluff  with  the 
captain  and  Olive  to  look  at  the  river. 

That  evening,  as  they  sat  together,  Lieutenant 
Asher  told  his  brother  all  that  Mrs.  Easterfield  had 
confided  to  him  about  Dick  Lancaster.  The  captain 
was  delighted. 

"  That  is  what  I  have  wanted,"  he  said,  "  almost 
from  the  beginning,  and  I  want  it  more  than  ever  now. 
I  am  getting  to  be  an  old  fellow,  and  I  want  to  see  her 
settled  before  I  sail." 

"  You  know,  John,"  said  the  lieutenant,  "  that 
I  find  Olive  is  a  little  more  of  a  girl  .of  her  own 
mind  than  she  used  to  be.  I  don't  believe  she  would 
rest  quietly  under  the  housekeeping  of  a  girl  so  nearly 
her  own  age." 

The  captain  gave  some  vigorous  puffs.  ' '  I  should 
think  not !  "  he  said  to  himself.  ' '  Olive  would  have 
that  young  woman  swabbing  the  decks  before  they  had 
been  out  three  days !  You  are  right, ' '  said  he  aloud, 
"  but  we  must  all  look  out  that  Olive  does  not  hear 
anything  about  this." 

284 


BY    THE    SEA 

It  was  not  until  they  were  continuing  their  bridal 
trip  that  Lieutenant  Asher  considered  the  subject  of 
mentioning  Dick  Lancaster  to  his  wife.  Then,  after 
considering  it,  he  concluded  not  to  do  it.  In  the  first 
place,  he  knew  that  he  was  getting  to  be  a  little  bit 
elderly,  and  he  did  not  care  about  discussing  the  per 
fections  of  the  young  man  who  had  been  selected  as  a 
suitable  partner  for  his  wife 's  school  friend.  This  was 
all  very  foolish,  of  course,  but  people  often  are  very 
foolish. 

Thus  it  was  that  Olive  Asher  never  heard  of  the 
tripartite  alliance  between  her  father,  her  uncle,  and 
her  good  friend  at  Broadstone. 

When  Captain  Asher  learned,  a  few  days  after 
his  brother  had  left,  that  the  Broadstone  family  had 
gone  to  the  seashore,  he  sat  reflectively  and  asked  him 
self  if  he  were  doing  the  right  thing  by  Olive.  The 
season  was  well  advanced ;  it  was  getting  very  hot  at 
the  toll-gate,  and  at  many  other  gates  in  that  region ; 
and  this  navy  girl  ought  to  have  a  breath  of  fresh 
air.  It  is  wonderful  that  he  had  not  thought  of  it 
before ! 

At  breakfast  the  next  morning  Olive  stopped  pour 
ing  coffee  when  he  told  her  his  plans  to  go  to  the  sea. 

"With  you,  Uncle  John!"  she  cried.  "That 
would  be  better  than  anything  in  the  world !  You  sail 
a  boat  ?  ' '  she  asked  inquiringly. 

"  Sail  a  boat!  "  roared  the  captain.  "  I  have  a 
great  mind  to  kick  over  this  table !  My  dear,  I  can 
sail  a  boat,  keel  uppermost,  if  the  water's  deep  enough ! 
Sail  a  boat !  "  he  repeated.  * '  I  sailed  a  catboat  from 
Boston  to  Egg  Harbor  before  your  mother  wTas  born. 

285 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

By  the  way,  you  seem  very  anxious  about  boat  sail 
ing.  Are  you  afraid  of  the  water  ?  ' : 

She  laughed  gaily.  "  I  deserve  that,"  she  said, 
"  and  I  accept  it.  But  perhaps  I  have  done  something 
that  you  never  did.  I  have  sailed  a  felucca." 

"  Very  good,"  said  the  captain;  "  if  there's 
a  felucca  where  we're  going  you  can  sail  me  in 
one." 

They  went  to  a  Virginia  seaside  resort,  these  two, 
and  left  old  Jane  in  charge  of  the  toll-gate. 

Early  in  the  day  after  they  arrived  they  went  out 
to  engage  a  boat.  When  they  found  one  which  suited 
the  captain 's  critical  eye,  he  said  to  the  owner  thereof : 
* '  I  will  take  her  for  the  morning,  but  I  don 't  want  any 
body  to  sail  me.  I  will  do  that  myself." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  the  man;  "  when 
my  boat  goes  out " 

He  stopped  speaking  suddenly  and  looked  the  cap 
tain  over  and  over,  up  and  down.  "  All  right,  sir," 
said  he.  ' '  And  you  don't  want  nobody  to  manage  the 
sheet?  " 

1  'No,"  interpolated  Olive,  "I'll  manage  the 
sheet." 

So  they  went  out  on  the  bounding  sea.  And  as  the 
wind  whistled  the  hat  off  her  head  so  that  she  had  to 
fling  it  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  Olive  wished  that 
her  uncle  kept  a  toll-gate  on  the  sea.  Then  she  could 
go  out  with  him  and  stop  the  little  boats  and  the  great 
steamers,  and  make  them  drop  seven  cents  or  thirteen 
cents  into  her  hands  as  she  stood  braced  in  the  stern ; 
and  she  was  just  beginning  to  wonder  how  she  could 
toss  up  the  change  to  them  if  they  dropped  her  a  quar- 

286 


BY    THE    SEA 

ter,  when  the  captain  began  to  sing  Tom  Bowline.  He 
was  just  as  gay-hearted  as  she  was. 

It  was  about  noon  when  they  returned,  for  the  cap 
tain  was  a  very  particular  man  and  he  had  hired  the 
boat  only  for  the  morning.  Olive  had  scarcely  taken 
ten  steps  up  the  beach  before  she  found  herself  sha 
king  hands  with  a  young  man. 

* '  How  on  earth !  ' '  she  exclaimed. 

* '  It  was  not  on  earth  at  all, ' '  he  said ;  "  I  came  by 
water.  I  wanted  to  find  out  if  what  I  had  heard  of  the 
horrors  of  a  coastwise  voyage  were  true ;  and  I  found 
that  it  was  absolutely  correct. ' ' 

' '  But  here !  "she  exclaimed.  ' '  Why  here  ?  You 
could  not  have  known !  ' ! 

'  *  Of  course  not, ' '  he  answered ;  "  if  I  had  known 
I  am  sure  I  would  have  felt  that  I  ought  not  to  come. 
But  I  didn  't  know,  and  so  you  see  I  am  as  innocent  as  a 
butterfly.  More  innocent,  in  fact,  for  that  little  wag- 
wings  knows  where  he  ought  not  to  go,  and  he  goes 
there  all  the  same. ' ' 

Captain  Asher  was  still  at  the  boat,  making  some 
practical  suggestions  to  her  owner ;  who,  being  not  yet 
forty,  had  many  things  to  learn  about  the  sails  and 
rigging  of  a  catboat. 

*  *  Mr.  Locker, ' '  said  Olive,  looking  at  him  very  in 
tently,  ' '  did  you  come  here  to  renew  any  of  your  pre 
vious  performances  ?  ' : 

"  As  a  serenader  ?  ' '  said  he.  ' '  Oh,  no !  But  per 
haps  you  mean  as  a  love-maker  ?  ' ; 

"  That  is  it,"  said  Olive. 

Mr.  Locker  took  off  his  hat,  and  rubbed  his  head. 
"  No,"  said  he,  "  I  didn't;  but  I  wish  I  could  say  I 

287 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

did.  But  that's  impossible.  I  presume  I  am  right  in 
assuming  this  impossibility  1  ' y 

"  Entirely, "said  Olive. 

* '  And,  furthermore,  I  truly  didn  't  know  you  were 
here.  I  think  you  may  rest  satisfied  that  that  flame 
is  out,  although—  By  the  way,  I  believe  I  could 
make  some  verses  on  that  subject  containing  these 
lines: 

"  '  I  do  not  want  the  flame, 
I  better  like  the  coal ' 

meaning,  of  course,  that  I  hope  our  friendship  may 
continue. ' ' 

She  smiled.  "  There  are  no  objections  to  that," 
she  said. 

"  Perhaps  not,  perhaps  not,"  he  said,  clutching 
his  chin  with  his  hand;  "  but  some  other  lines  come 
into  my  head.  Of  course,  he  didn 't  want  the  coal  to  go 
out. 

"  '  He  blew  too  hard, 
The  flame  revived.'  " 

"  That  will  do !  That  will  do !  "  cried  Olive.  "  I 
don't  want  any  more  of  that  poem." 

"  And  the  result  of  it  all,"  said  he,  "  is  only  a 
burnt  match." 

'  *  Nothing  but  a  bit  of  charcoal, ' '  added  Olive. 

At  this  moment  up  came  the  captain.  Olive  had 
told  him  all  about  Mr.  Locker,  and  he  was  not  glad  to 
see  him.  Olive  noticed  this,  and  she  spoke  quickly. 
"  Here's  Mr.  Locker,  uncle;  he  has  dropped  down 
quite  accidentally  at  this  place." 

"  Oh !  "  said  the  captain  incredulously. 
288 


BY    THE    SEA 

"  You  know  he  used  to  like  me  too  much.  But 
he  knows  me  better  now. ' ' 

' '  Charming  frankness  of  friendship !  ' '  said 
Locker. 

"  And  as  I  like  him  very  much,  I  am  glad  he  is 
here,"  continued  Olive. 

The  young  man  bowed  in  gratitude,  but  Olive's 
words  embarrassed  him  somewhat,  and  he  did  not  know 
exactly  what  would  be  suitable  for  him  to  say.  So  he 
took  refuge  in  a  change  of  subject.  "  Captain,"  said 
he,  * '  can  you  fish  1  '  ' 

A  look  of  scornful  amazement  showed  itself  upon 
the  old  mariner 's  face.  * '  I  have  tried  it, ' '  said  he. 

' '  And  so  have  I, ' '  cried  Locker,  ' '  but  I  never  had 
any  luck  in  fishing  and — some  other  things.  I  am 
vilely  unlucky.  I  expect  that's  because  I  don't  know 
how  to  fish. ' ' 

"  It  is  very  likely,"  said  Olive,  "  that  your  bad 
luck  comes  from  not  knowing  where  to  fish. ' ' 

The  young  man  took  off  his  hat  and  held  it  for  a 
little  while,  although  the  sun  was  very  hot. 

During  the  course  of  that  afternoon  and  evening 
Captain  Asher  grew  to  like  Claude  Locker.  The  young 
man  told  such  gravely  comical  stories,  especially  about 
his  experiences  in  boats  and  on  the  water,  that  the  cap 
tain  was  very  glad  he  had  happened  to  drop  down  upon 
that  especial  watering-place.  He  wanted  Olive  to  have 
some  society  besides  his  own,  and  a  discarded  lover  was 
better  than  any  other  young  man  they  might  meet. 
He  knew  that  Olive  was  a  girl  who  would  not  go 
back  on  her  word. 


289 


CHAPTER    XXXI 

As  good  as  a  Man 

THE  next  day  our  three  friends  went  fishing  in  a 
catboat  belonging  to  the  young  seaman  of  forty,  and 
they  took  their  dinner  with  them,  although  Mr.  Locker 
declared  that  he  did  not  believe  that  he  would  want 
any. 

They  had  a  good  time  on  the  water,  for  the  captain 
had  made  careful  inquiries  about  the  best  fishing 
grounds,  and  the  mishaps  of  Locker  were  so  numerous 
and  so  provocative  of  queer  remarks  from  himself,  that 
the  captain  and  Olive  sometimes  forgot  to  pull  up  their 
fish,  so  preengaged  were  they  in  laughing.  The  sky 
was  bright,  the  water  smooth,  and  even  Mr.  Locker 
caught  fish,  although  it  might  have  been  thought  that 
he  did  everything  possible  to  prevent  himself  doing  so. 

When  their  boat  ran  up  the  beach  late  in  the  after 
noon  the  captain  and  Olive  were  still  laughing,  and  Mr. 
Locker  was  as  sober  as  a  soda-water  fountain  from 
which  spouts  such  intermittent  sparkle.  Dear  as  was 
the  toll-gate,  this  was  a  fine  change  from  that  quiet 
home. 

The  next  morning,  upon  the  sand,  Claude  Locker 
approached  Olive.  "  Would  you  like  to  decline  my 
addresses  for  the  second  time  ?  "  he  abruptly  asked. 

290 


AS    GOOD    AS    A    MAN 

' '  Of  course  not !  ' '  she  exclaimed. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  he,  extending  his  hand, 
"  good-by!  " 

"  What  are  you  talking  about?  "  said  Olive. 
"  What  does  this  mean?  " 

"  It  means,"  said  he,  "  that  I  have  fallen  in  love 
with  you  again.  I  think  I  am  rather  worse  than  I 
was  before.  If  I  stay  here  I  shall  surely  propose. 
Nothing  can  stop  me — not  even  the  presence  of  your 
uncle  if  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  see  you  alone — and, 
if  you  don't  want  any  of  that,  it  is  necessary  that  I 
go,  and  go  quickly." 

'  *  Of  course  I  don 't  want  it, ' '  she  said.  ' '  But  why 
need  you  be  so  foolish?  We  were  getting  along  so 
nicely  as  friends.  I  expected  to  have  lots  of  fun  here 
with  you  and  uncle." 

1  i  Fun !  ' '  groaned  Locker.  ' l  It  might  have  been 
fun  for  you  and  the  captain,  but  what  of  the  poor  torn 
heart?  I  know  I  must  go,  and  now.  If  I  stay  here 
five  minutes  longer  I  shall  be  at  your  feet,  and  it  will 
be  far  better  if  I  take  to  my  own.  Good-by !  ' '  And, 
with  a  warm  grasp  of  her  hand,  he  departed. 

Olive  looked  after  him  as  he  walked  to  the  hotel. 
If  he  had  known  how  much  she  regretted  to  see  him  go 
he  would  have  come  back,  and  all  his  troubles  would 
have  begun  again. 

* '  Hello !  ' '  cried  the  captain  when  Locker  had  en 
tered  the  house,  "  I  was  looking  for  you.  We  can 
run  out,  and  have  some  fishing  this  morning.  The  tide 
will  suit.  You  did  so  well  yesterday  that  I  think  to-day. 
I  can  even  teach  you  to  take  out  a  hook. ' ' 

1  i  Take  out  a  hook  ?  ' '  said  Locker.  ' '  I  have  a  hook 
21  291 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

within  me  which  no  man  in  this  world,  and  but  one 
woman,  can  take  out.  And  as  this  she  must  not  even 
be  asked  to  do,  I  go.  Farewell !  ' ' 

' '  What 's  the  matter  with  the  young  man  ?  ' '  asked 
the  captain  of  Olive  a  little  later. 

"  Oh,  he  has  fallen  in  love  with  me  again,"  said 
Olive,  with  a  sigh,  ' '  and,  of  course,  that  spoils  every 
thing.  I  wish  people  could  be  more  sensible. ' ' 

The  captain  looked  down  upon  her  admiringly. 
"  I  don't  see  any  hope  for  people,"  he  said.  And  this 
was  the  first  personal  compliment  he  had  ever  paid  his 
niece. 

AVhen  Claude  Locker  had  gone,  Olive  missed  him 
more  than  she  thought  she  could  miss  anybody.  Much 
of  the  life  seemed  to  have  gone  out  of  the  place,  and 
the  captain's  high  spirits  waned  as  if  he  wras  suffering 
from  the  depression  which  follows  a  stimulant. 

"  If  that  young  fellow  had  been  better-looking," 
said  the  captain,  "  if  he  had  more  solid  sense,  and  a 
good  business,  with  both  his  eyes  alike,  I  might  have 
been  more  willing  to  let  him  go. ' ' 

"If  he  had  been  all  that,"  asked  Olive  with  a 
smile,  "  why  shouldn't  you  have  been  willing  to  let 
him  stay  ?  ' ' 

The  captain  did  not  answer.  No  matter  what 
young  Locker  might  have  been,  he  could  never  have 
been  Dick  Lancaster. 

1  i  Uncle, ' '  said  Olive  that  afternoon,  ' '  where  shall 
we  go  next?  " 

* '  I  don 't  know, ' '  said  he, ' '  but  let 's  go  to-morrow. 
I  don't  believe  I  like  so  many  strangers  except  when 
they  pay  toll." 

292 


AS    GOOD    AS    A    MAN 

They  traveled  about  a  good  deal ;  and  in  a  general 
way  enjoyed  themselves ;  but  they  were  both  old  travel 
ers,  and  mere  novelty  was  not  enough  for  them.  Each 
loved  the  company  of  the  other,  but  each  would  have 
liked  to  have  Locker  along.  It  grieved  Olive  to  think 
that  she  wanted  him,  or  anybody,  but  she  would  not 
even  try  to  deceive  herself.  The  weather  grew  cooler, 
and  she  said  to  her  uncle :  ' '  Let  us  go  back  to  the  toll- 
gate  ;  it  must  be  perfectly  beautiful  there  now,  with  the 
mountains  putting  on  their  gold  and  red. ' ' 

So  they  started  for  home,  planning  for  a  stop  in 
Washington  on  their  way. 

Brightness  and  people  were  coming  back  to  Wash 
ington.  The  air  was  cooler,  and  city  life  was  stirring. 
Olive  and  her  uncle  stayed  several  days  longer  than 
they  had  intended ;  as  most  people  do  who  visit  Wash 
ington.  On  one  of  these  days  as  they  were  returning 
to  their  hotel  from  the  Smithsonian  grounds,  where 
they  had  been  looking  at  autumn  leaves  from  all  quar 
ters  of  this  wide  land;  many  of  them  unknown  to 
them;  they  looked  with  interest  from  the  shaded 
grounds  on  one  side  of  the  street  to  the  great  public 
building  on  the  other  side,  which  they  were  then  pass 
ing,  and  at  the  broad  steps  ascending  from  the  side 
walk  to  the  basement  floor. 

As  they  moved  on  thus  slowly  they  noticed  a  man 
standing  upon  the  upper  steps  of  one  of  these  stairs. 
His  back  was  toward  them;  and,  as  their  eyes  fell 
upon  him  he  stepped  upon  the  upper  sidewalk.  He 
was  walking  with  a  cane  which  seemed  to  be  rather 
short  for  him.  He  stood  still  for  a  moment,  and  ap 
peared  to  be  waiting  for  some  one.  Then,  suddenly 

293 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

his  whole  frame  thrilled  with  nervous  action;  he 
slightly  lowered  his  head,  and,  in  an  instant,  he 
brought  his  cane  to  his  shoulder,  as  if  it  had  been  a 
gun.  The  captain  had  seen  that  sort  of  thing  before. 
It  was  an  air-gun.  Without  a  word  he  made  a  dash 
at  the  man.  He  was  elderly,  but  in  a  case  like  this 
he  was  swift.  As  he  ran  he  glanced  out  in  the  direc 
tion  in  which  the  gun  was  aimed.  Along  the  broad, 
sunlighted  avenue  a  barouche  was  passing.  On  the 
back  seat  sat  two  gentlemen,  well-dressed,  erect.  Even 
in  a  flash  one  would  notice  an  air  of  dignity  in  their 
demeanor. 

There  was  not  time  to  strike  down  the  weapon,  but 
before  the  man  had  heard  steps  behind  him  the  cap 
tain  gave  him  a  tremendous  blow  between  the  shoul 
ders  which  staggered  him,  and  spoiled  his  aim.  Then 
the  captain  seized  the  air-gun.  There  was  a  whiz,  and 
a  click  on  the  pavement.  Then  the  man  turned. 

His  black  eyes  flashed  out  of  a  swarthy  face  nearly 
covered  with  beard ;  his  soft  hat  had  fallen  off  when 
the  captain  struck  him,  and  his  black  hair  stood  up  like 
bristles  on  a  shoe-brush.  He  was  not  a  large  man ;  he 
wore  a  loose  woolen  jacket ;  his  sleeves  were  short,  and 
his  hands  were  hairy. 

All  this  Olive  saw,  for  she  had  been  quick  to  follow 
her  uncle ;  but  the  captain,  who  firmly  held  the  air-gun, 
saw  nothing  but  the  glaring  face  of  a  devil. 

The  man  jerked  furiously  at  the  gun,  but  the  cap 
tain's  grasp  was  too  strong.  Then  the  fellow  released 
his  hold  upon  the  gun,  and,  with  a  savage  fury,  threw 
himself  upon  the  older  man.  The  two  stood  near  the 
top  of  the  steps,  and  the  shock  of  the  attack  was  so 

294 


AS    GOOD    AS    A    MAN 

great  that  both  fell,  slipping  down  several  of  the  stone 
steps. 

Olive  tried  to  scream,  but  in  her  fright  her  voice 
utterly  left  her.  She  could  not  make  a  sound.  As 
they  lay  upon  the  steps,  the  captain  beneath,  the  man 
seized  his  victim  by  the  neck  with  both  hands,  pressing 
his  great  thumbs  deeply  into  his  throat.  Apparently 
he  did  not  notice  Olive.  All  the  efforts  of  his  devilish 
soul  were  bent  upon  stifling  the  voice  and  the  life  out 
of  the  witness  of  his  attempted  crime.  Olive  sprang 
down,  and  stood  over  the  struggling  men.  Her  uncle 's 
eyes  stared  at  her,  and  seemed  bursting  from  his  head. 
His  face  was  growing  dark.  Again  Olive  tried  to 
scream;  and,  in  a  frenzy,  she  seized  the  man  to  pull 
him  from  the  captain.  As  she  did  so  her  hand  fell 
upon  something  protruding  under  his  woolen  jacket. 
With  a  quick  flash  of  instinct  her  sense  of  feeling 
recognized  this  thing.  She  jerked  up  the  jacket,  and 
there  was  the  stock  of  a  pistol  protruding  from  his 
hip  pocket.  In  an  instant  Olive  drew  it. 

A  horrid  sound  issued  from  the  mouth  of  Captain 
Asher ;  he  was  choking  to  death.  In  the  same  second 
that  she  heard  it  Olive  thrust  the  muzzle  of  the  pistol 
against  the  side  of  the  man's  head  and  pulled  the 
trigger. 

The  man's  head  fell  forward  and  his  hairy  hands 
released  their  grip,  but  they  still  remained  at  the  cap 
tain's  throat.  The  latter  gave  a  great  gasp,  and  for  an 
instant  he  turned  his  eyes  full  upon  the  face  of  his 
niece.  Then  his  lids  closed. 

Now  there  were  footsteps,  and,  looking  up,  Olive 
saw  a  negro  cabman  in  faded  livery  and  an  old  silk 

295 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

hat,  who  stood  staring.  Before  she  could  speak  to 
him  there  came  another  man,  a  policeman,  who,  equally 
amazed,  stared  at  the  group  below  him.  Only  these 
two  had  heard  the  pistol  shots.  There  were  no  other 
people  passing  on  the  avenue,  and  as  it  was  past  office 
hours  there  was  no  one  in  the  great  public  building. 

Until  they  reached  the  top  of  the  steps  the  police 
man  and  cabman  could  see  nothing.  Now  they  stood 
astounded  as  they  stared  down  upon  an  elderly  man 
lying  on  his  back  on  the  steps ;  another  man,  apparently 
lifeless,  lying  on  top  of  him  with  his  hands  upon  his 
throat ;  and  a  girl  standing  a  little  below  them  with  a 
smoking  pistol  in  her  hand. 

Before  they  had  time  to  speak  or  move  Olive  called 
out,  *  *  Take  that  man  off  my  uncle. ' ' 

In  a  moment  the  policeman,  followed  by  the  negro, 
ran  down  the  steps  and  pulled  the  black-headed  man 
off  the  captain,  and  the  limp  body  slipped  down  several 
steps. 

The  policeman  now  turned  toward  Olive.  "  Take 
this, ' '  she  said,  handing  him  the  pistol.  * '  I  shot  him. 
He  was  trying  to  kill  my  uncle." 

The  two  men  raised  the  captain  to  a  sitting  posi 
tion.  He  was  now  breathing,  though  in  gasps,  with  his 
eyes  opened. 

The  policeman  took  the  pistol,  looked  at  it,  then  at 
Olive,  then  at  the  captain,  and  then  down  at  the  body 
on  the  steps.  He  was  trying  to  get  an  idea  of  what 
had  happened  without  asking.  If  the  negro  had  not 
been  present  he  might  have  asked  questions,  but  this 
was  an  unusual  situation,  and  he  felt  his  responsibility, 
and  his  importance.  Olive  now  stepped  toward  him, 

296 


AS    GOOD    AS    A    MAN 

and  in  obedience  to  her  quick  gesture  he  bent  his  head, 
and  she  whispered  something  to  him.  Instantly  he 
was  quivering  with  excitement.  He  thrust  the  pistol 
into  his  pocket,  and  turned  to  the  negro.  "  Run," 
said  he,  '  *  and  get  your  cab !  Don 't  say  a  word  to 
a  soul  and  I  will  give  you  five  dollars." 

The  moment  the  negro  had  departed  Olive  said: 
"  Pick  up  that  air-gun.  There,  on  the  upper  step." 
Then  she  went  to  her  uncle  and  sat  down  by  him. 

1 '  Are  you  hurt  ?  ' '  she  said.     * '  Can  you  speak  ?  ' ' 

The  captain  put  his  arm  around  her  shoulder,  fix 
ing  a  loving  look  upon  her,  and  murmured,  '  *  You  are 
as  good  as  a  man !  ' ' 

The  policeman  picked  up  the  air-gun,  and  gazed 
upon  it  as  if  it  had  been  a  telegram  in  cipher  from  a 
detective.  Then  he  tried  to  conceal  it  under  his  coat, 
but  it  was  too  long. 

*  *  Let  me  have  it, ' '  said  Olive ;  "  I  will  put  it  be 
hind  me." 

She  had  barely  concealed  it  when  the  cab  drove  up. 

"  Now,"  said  the  policeman,  "  you  two  must  go 
with  me.  Can  you  walk,  sir?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  the  captain  in  a  voice  clear,  but 
weak. 

Olive  rose,  holding  the  air-gun  behind  her,  and  the 
policeman  and  the  cabman  helped  the  captain  to  the 
carriage.  Olive  followed,  and  the  policeman,  actuated 
by  some  strong  instinct,  did  not  look  around  to  see  if 
she  were  doing  so.  He  had  no  more  idea  that  she  would 
run  away  than  that  the  stone  steps  would  move.  When 
he  saw  that  she  had  taken  the,  air-gun  into  the  carriage 
with  her,  he  closed  the  door. 

297 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  Did  your  fall  hurt  you,  uncle?  "  said  Olive, 
looking  anxiously  into  his  face. 

* '  My  throat  hurts  dreadfully, ' '  he  said,  ' '  and  I  'm 
stiff.  But  I'll  be  stiff er  to-morrow." 

The  policeman  picked  up  the  hat  of  the  black- 
haired  man,  and  going  down  the  steps,  he  placed  it  on 
his  head.  "  Now  help  me  up  with  this  gentleman," 
he  said  to  the  cabman ;  "  we  must  put  him  on  the  box- 
seat  between  us.  Take  him  under  the  arms,  and  we  '11 
carry  him  naturally.  He  must  be  awfully  drunk!  " 

So  they  lifted  him  up  the  steps,  and,  after  much 
trouble,  got  him  on  the  box-seat.  Fortunately  they 
were  both  big  men.  Then  they  drove  away  to  police 
headquarters.  The  officer  was  the  happiest  policeman 
in  Washington.  This  was  the  greatest  piece  of  work 
he  had  known  of  during  his  service ;  and  he  was  doing 
it  all  himself.  With  the  exception  of  the  driver,  no 
body  else  was  mixed  up  in  it  in  the  least  degree.  What 
he  was  doing  was  not  exactly  right ;  it  was  not  accord 
ing  to  custom  and  regulation.  He  should  have  called 
for  assistance,  for  an  ambulance ;  but  he  had  not,  and 
his  guardian  angel  had  kept  all  foot-passengers  from 
the  steps  of  the  public  building.  He  did  not  know 
what  it  all  meant,  but  he  was  doing  it  himself,  and  if 
that  black  driver  should  slip  from  his  seat  (of  which 
he  occupied  a  very  small  portion)  and  he  should  break 
his  neck,  the  policeman  would  clutch  the  reins,  and  be 
happier  than  any  man  in  Washington. 

There  were  very  many  people  who  looked  at  the 
drunken  man  who  was  being  carried  off  by  the  police 
man,  but  the  cabman  drove  swiftly,  and  gave  such  peo 
ple  very  little  opportunity  for  close  observation. 

298 


CHAPTER    XXXII 

The  Stock-Market  is  Safe 

THERE  was  a  great  stir  at  the  police  station,  but 
Olive  and  her  uncle  saw  little  of  it.  They  were 
quickly  taken  to  private  rooms,  where  the  captain  was 
attended  by  a  police  surgeon.  He  had  been  bruised 
and  badly  treated,  but  his  injuries  were  not  serious. 

Olive  was  put  in  charge  of  a  matron,  who  wondered 
greatly  what  brought  her  there.  Very  soon  they  were 
examined  separately,  and  the  tale  of  each  of  them  was 
almost  identical  with  that  of  the  other ;  only  Olive  was 
able  to  tell  more  about  the  two  gentlemen  in  the 
barouche,  for  she  had  been  at  her  uncle's  side,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  obstruct  her  vision. 

When  the  examination  was  ended  the  police  cap 
tain  enjoined  each  of  them  to  say  no  word  to  any  liv 
ing  soul  about  what  they  had  testified  to  him.  This 
was  a  most  important  matter,  and  it  was  necessary  that 
it  be  hedged  around  with  the  greatest  secrecy. 

When  Olive  retired  to  her  plain  but  comfortable 
cot  she  was  tired  and  weak  from  the  reaction  of  her 
restrained  emotions,  but  she  did  not  immediately  go  to 
sleep  for  thinking  that  she  had  killed  a  man.  And  yet 
for  this  killing  there  was  not  in  this  girl's  mind  one 
atom  of  regret.  She  was  so  grateful  that  she  had  been 

299 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

there,  and  had  been  enabled  to  do  it.  She  had  seen  her 
uncle  almost  at  his  last  gasp,  and  she  had  saved  him 
from  making  that  last  gasp.  Moreover,  she  had  saved 
the  life  of  the  man  who  had  saved  the  most  important 
life  in  the  land.  She  knew  the  face  of  the  gentleman 
in  the  barouche  who  sat  on  the  side  nearest  her;  she 
knew  what  her  uncle  had  done,  and  she  was  proud  of 
him ;  she  knew  what  she  had  done  for  him ;  and  she  re 
garded  the  black-haired  man  with  the  hairy  hands  no 
more  than  she  would  have  regarded  a  wild  beast  who 
had  suddenly  sprung  upon  them.  She  thought  of 
him,  of  course,  with  horror,  but  her  feelings  of  thank 
fulness  for  her  uncle 's  safety  were  far  too  strong.  At 
last  her  grateful  heart  closed  her  eyes,  and  let  her  rest. 

There  were  no  letters  found  on  the  body  of  the 
black-haired  man  which  gave  any  clue  to  his  name; 
but  there  were  papers  which  showed  that  he  was  from 
southern  France;  that  he  was  an  anarchist;  that  he 
was  in  this  country  upon  a  mission ;  and  that  he  had 
been  for  two  weeks  in  Washington,  waiting  for  an  op 
portunity  to  fulfil  that  mission.  Which  opportunity 
had  at  last  shown  itself  in  front  of  him  just  as  Cap 
tain  John  Asher  rushed  up  behind  him. 

This  information  was  so  important  that  extraordi 
nary  methods  were  pursued.  Communications  were 
immediately  made  with  the  State  Department,  and 
with  the  higher  police  authorities ;  and  it  was  quickly 
determined  that,  whatever  else  might  be  done,  the 
strictest  secrecy  must  be  enforced.  The  coroner's  jury 
was  carefully  selected  and  earnestly  admonished ;  and, 
early  the  next  morning,  when  the  captain  and  Olive 
were  required  to  testify  before  it,  they  were  made  to 

300 


THE    STOCK-MARKET    IS    SAFE 

understand  how  absolutely  necessary  it  was  they 
should  say  nothing  except  to  answer  the  questions 
which  were  asked  them.  The  coroner  was  eminently 
discreet  in  regard  to  his  questions;  and  the  verdict 
was  that  Olive  was  acting  in  her  own  defense  as  well 
as  that  of  her  uncle  when  she  shot  his  assailant. 

Among  the  officials  whose  positions  enabled  them 
to  know  all  these  astonishing  occurrences  it  was  unani 
mously  agreed  that,  so  far  as  possible,  everybody 
should  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  crime  which  had 
been  attempted,  and  of  the  deliverance  which  had 
taken  place. 

Very  early  the  next  afternoon  the  air  was  filled 
with  the  cries  of  newsboys,  and  each  paper  that  these 
boys  sold  contained  a  full  and  detailed  account  of  a 
remarkable  attempt  by  an  unknown  foreigner  upon  the 
life  of  Captain  John  Asher,  a  visitor  in  Washington, 
and  the  heroic  conduct  of  his  niece,  Miss  Olive  Asher, 
who  shot  the  murderous  assailant  with  his  own  pistol. 
There  were  columns  and  columns  of  this  story,  but 
strange  to  say,  in  not  one  of  the  papers  was  there  any 
allusion  to  the  two  gentlemen  in  the  barouche,  or  to  the 
air-gun. 

How  this  most  important  feature  of  the  occurrence 
came  to  be  omitted  in  all  the  accounts  of  it  can  only  be 
explained  by  those  who  thoroughly  understand  the  exi 
gencies  of  the  stock-market,  and  the  probable  effect  of 
certain  classes  of  news  upon  approaching  political 
situations,  and  who  have  made  themselves  familiar 
with  the  methods  by  which  the  pervasive  power  of  the 
press  is  sometimes  curtailed. 

In  the  later  afternoon  editions  there  were  portraits 
301 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

of  Olive,  and  her  uncle.  Olive  was  broad-shouldered, 
with  black  hair  and  a  determined  frown,  while  the 
captain  was  a  little  man  with  a  long  beard.  There 
were  no  portraits  of  the  anarchist.  He  passed  away 
from  the  knowledge  of  man,  and  no  one  knew  even  his 
name ;  his  crime  had  blotted  him  out ;  his  ambition  was 
blotted  out ;  even  the  evil  of  his  example  was  blotted 
out.  There  was  nothing  left  of  him. 

When  they  were  released  from  detention  the  captain 
and  Olive  quickly  left  the  station — which  they  did 
without  observation — and  entered  a  carriage  which 
was  waiting  for  them  a  short  distance  away.  The  fact 
that  another  carriage  with  close-drawn  curtains  had 
stopped  at  the  station  about  ten  minutes  before,  and 
that  a  thickly  veiled  lady  (the  matron)  and  an  elder 
ly  man  with  his  collar  turned  up  and  his  hat  drawn 
down  (one  of  the  police  officers  in  plain  clothes)  had 
entered  the  carriage  and  had  been  driven  rapidly 
away  had  drawn  off  the  reporters  and  the  curiosity 
mongers  on  the  sidewalk  and  had  contributed  very 
much  to  the  undisturbed  exit  of  Captain  and  Miss 
Asher. 

These  two  proceeded  leisurely  to  the  railroad-sta 
tion,  where  they  took  a  train  which  would  carry  them 
to  the  little  town  of  Glenford.  Their  affairs  at  the 
hotel  could  be  arranged  by  telegram.  There  were  calls 
at  that  hotel  during  the  rest  of  the  day  from  people 
who  knew  Olive  or  her  uncle;  calls  from  people  who 
wanted  to  know  them ;  calls  from  people  who  would  be 
contented  even  to  look  at  them ;  calls  from  autograph 
hunters  who  would  be  content  simply  to  send  up  their 
cards ;  quiet  calls  from  people  connected  with  the  Gov- 

302 


THE    STOCK-MARKET    IS    SAFE 

ernment ;  and  calls  from  eager  persons  who  could  not 
have  told  anybody  what  they  wanted.  To  none  of 
these  could  the  head  clerk  give  any  satisfaction.  He 
had  not  seen  his  guests  since  the  day  before,  and  he 
knew  naught  about  them. 

When  Miss  Maria  Port  heard  that  that  horrid  girl, 
Olive  Asher,  had  shot  an  anarchist,  she  stiffened  her 
self  to  her  greatest  length,  and  let  her  head  fall  on  the 
back  of  her  chair.  She  was  scarcely  able  to  call  to  the 
small  girl  who  endured  her  service  to  bring  her  some 
water.  "  Now  all  is  over,"  she  groaned,  "  for  I  can 
never  marry  a  man  whose  niece's  hands  are  dripping 
with  blood.  She  will  live  with  him,  of  course,  for  he  is 
just  the  old  fool  to  allow  that,  and  anyway  there  is  no 
other  place  for  her  to  go  except  the  almshouse — that  is, 
if  they  '11  take  her  in. ' '  And  at  the  terrified  girl,  who 
tremblingly  asked  if  she  wanted  any  more  water,  she 
threw  her  scissors. 

The  captain  and  his  niece  arrived  early  in  the  day 
at  Glenf  ord  station.  The  captain  engaged  a  little  one- 
horse  vehicle  which  had  frequently  brought  people  to 
the  toll-gate,  and  informed  the  driver  that  there  was 
no  baggage.  The  man,  gazing  at  Olive,  but  scarcely 
daring  to  raise  his  eyes  to  her  face,  proceeded  with  sol 
emn  tread  toward  his  vehicle  as  if  he  had  been  leading 
the  line  in  a  funeral. 

As  they  drove  through  the  town  they  were  obliged 
to  pass  the  house  of  Miss  Maria  Port.  The  door  was 
shut,  and  the  shutters  were  closed.  She  had  had  a  ter 
rible  night,  and  had  slept  but  little,  but  hearing  the 
sound  of  wheels  upon  the  street,  she  had  bounced  out 

303 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

of  bed  and  had  peered  through  the  blinds.  When  she 
saw  who  it  was  she  cursed  them  both. 

"  That  was  the  only  thing,"  she  snapped,  "  that 
could  have  kept  me  from  gettin'  him!  So  far  as  I 
know,  that  was  the  only  thing !  ' ' 

When  old  Jane  received  the  travelers  at  the  toll- 
gate  she  warmly  welcomed  the  captain,  but  she  trem 
bled  before  Olive.  If  the  girl  noticed  the  demeanor 
of  the  old  woman,  she  pretended  not  to  do  so,  and, 
speaking  to  her  pleasantly,  she  passed  within. 

"  Will  they  hang  her?  "  she  said  to  the  captain 
later. 

'  *  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  he  shouted.  ' '  Have  you 
gone  crazy  ?  ' ' 

1  i  The  people  in  the  town  said  they  would, ' '  replied 
old  Jane,  beginning  to  cry  a  little. 

The  captain  looked  at  her  steadily.  "  Did  any 
particular  person  in  the  town  say  that  ?  ' : 

* '  Yes,  sir, ' '  she  answered ;  ' '  Miss  Maria  Port  was 
the  first  to  say  it,  so  I've  been  told. " 

' '  She  is  the  one  who  ought  to  be  hanged !  ' '  said  the 
captain,  speaking  very  warmly.  ' '  As  for  Miss  Olive, 
she  ought  to  have  a  monument  set  up  for  her.  I  'd  do 
it  myself  if  I  had  the  money. ' ' 

Old  Jane  answered  not,  but  in  her  heart  she 
said :  ' '  But  she  killed  a  man !  It  is  truly  dread 
ful!  " 

By  nightfall  of  that  day  the  two  hotels  of  Glenf ord 
were  crowded,  the  visitors  being  generally  connected 
with  newspapers.  On  the  next  day  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  travel  on  the  turnpike,  and  old  Jane  was  kept 
very  busy,  the  captain  having  resigned  the  entire  busi- 

304 


THE    STOCK-MARKET    IS    SAFE 

ness  of  toll-taking  to  her.  Everybody  stopped,  asked 
questions,  and  requested  to  see  the  captain ;  and  many 
drove  through  and  came  back  again,  hoping  to  have 
better  luck  next  time.  But  their  luck  was  always  bad ; 
old  Jane  would  say  nothing ;  and  the  captain  and  Olive 
were  not  to  be  seen.  The  gate  to  the  little  front  garden 
was  locked,  and  there  was  no  passing  through  the  toll 
house.  To  keep  people  from  getting  over  the  fence  a 
bulldog,  which  the  captain  kept  at  the  barn,  was  turned 
loose  in  the  yard. 

There  were  men  with  cameras  who  got  into  the 
field  opposite  the  toll-gate,  and  who  took  views  from 
up  and  down  the  road,  but  their  work  could  not  be 
prevented,  and  Olive  and  her  uncle  kept  strictly  in 
doors. 

It  was  on  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of  siege 
that  the  captain,  from  an  upper  window,  discovered  a 
camera  on  three  legs  standing  outside  of  his  grounds 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  house.  A  man  was 
taking  sight  at  something  at  the  back  of  the  house. 
Softly  the  captain  slipped  down  into  the  back  yard, 
and  looking  up  he  saw  Olive  sitting  at  a  window, 
reading. 

With  five  steps  the  captain  went  into  the  house  and 
then  reappeared  at  the  back  door  with  a  musket  in  his 
hand.  The  man  had  stepped  to  his  pack  at  a  little 
distance  to  get  a  plate.  The  captain  raised  his  musket 
to  his  shoulder ;  Olive  sprang  to  her  feet  at  the  sound  of 
the  report ;  old  Jane  in  the  tollhouse  screamed ;  and 
the  camera  flew  into  splinters. 

After  this  there  were  no  further  attempts  to  take 
pictures  of  the  inmates  of  the  house  at  the  toll-gate. 

305 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

After  two  days  of  siege  the  newspaper  reporters  and 
the  photographers  left  Glenford.  They  could  not  af 
ford  to  waste  any  more  time.  But  they  carried  away 
with  them  a  great  many  stories  about  the  captain  and 
his  erratic  niece,  mostly  gleaned  from  a  very  respect 
able  elderly  lady  of  the  town  by  the  name  of  Port. 


306 


CHAPTER    XXXIII 

Dick  Lancaster  does  not  Write 

ON  the  third  morning  after  their  arrival  at  the 
toll-gate  the  captain  and  Olive  ventured  upon  a  little 
walk  over  the  farm.  It  was  very  hard  upon  both  of 
them  to  be  shut  up  in  the  house  so  long.  They  saw  no 
reporters,  nor  were  there  any  men  with  cameras,  but 
the  scenery  was  not  pleasant,  nor  was  the  air  particu 
larly  exhilarating.  They  were  not  happy;  they  felt 
alone,  as  if  they  were  in  a  strange  place.  Some  of  the 
captain's  friends  in  the  town  came  to  the  toll-gate,  but 
there  were  not  many,  and  Olive  saw  none  of  them. 
The  whole  situation  reminded  the  girl  of  the  death  of 
her  mother. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  Ashers  were  at 
home  there  came  letters  from  many  quarters.  One  of 
these  was  from  Mrs.  Easterfield.  She  would  be  at 
Broadstone  as  soon  as  she  could  get  her  children  started 
from  the  seashore.  She  longed  to  take  Olive  to  her 
heart,  but  whether  this  was  in  commiseration  or  com 
mendation  was  not  quite  plain  to  Olive.  The  letter 
concluded  with  this  sentence : ' '  There  is  something  be 
hind  all  this,  and  when  I  come  you  must  tell  me." 

Then  there  was  one  from  her  father  in  which  he 
bemoaned  what  had  happened.  "  That  such  a  thing 
22  307 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

should  have  come  to  my  daughter!  "  he  wrote.  "  To 
my  daughter!  "  There  was  a  great  deal  more  of  it, 
but  he  said  nothing  about  coming  with  his  young  wife 
to  the  toll-gate,  and  Olive's  countenance  was  almost 
stern  when  she  handed  this  letter  to  her  uncle. 

Claude  Locker  wrote :  *  *  How  I  long,  how  I  rage  to 
write  to  you,  or  to  go  to  you !  But  if  I  should  write, 
it  would  be  sure  to  give  you  pain,  and  if  I  should  go  to 
you  I  should  also  go  crazy.  Therefore,  I  will  merely 
state  that  I  love  you  madly;  more  now  than  ever  be 
fore  ;  and  that  I  shall  continue  to  do  so  for  the  rest  of 
my  life,  no  matter  what  happens  to  you,  or  to  me,  or  to 


anybody. 


Ever  turned  toward  you, 

"  CLAUDE  LOCKER. 


*  How  I  wish  I  had  been  there  with  a  sledge 
hammer!  " 

And  then  there  were  the  newspapers.  Many  of 
these  the  captain  had  ordered  by  the  Glenford  book 
seller,  and  a  number  were  sent  by  friends,  and  some 
even  by  strangers.  And  so  they  learned  what  was 
thought  of  them  over  a  wide  range  of  country,  and  this 
publicity  Olive  found  very  hard  to  bear.  It  was  even 
worse  than  the  deed  she  was  forced  to  do,  and  which 
gave  rise  to  all  this  disagreeable  publicity.  That  deed 
was  done  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  and  was  the  only 
thing  that  could  be  done;  but  all  this  was  prolonged 
torture.  Of  course,  the  newspapers  were  not  responsi 
ble  for  this.  The  transaction  wras  a  public  one  in  as 
public  a  place  as  could  possibly  be  selected,  and  it  was 
clearly  their  duty  to  give  the  public  full  information 

308 


DICK    DOES    NOT    WRITE 

in  regard  to  it.  They  knew  what  had  happened,  and 
how  could  they  possibly  know  what  had  not  happened  ? 
Nor  could  they  guess  that  this  was  of  more  importance 
than  the  happening.  And  so  they  all  viewed  the  action 
from  the  point  of  view  that  a  young  woman  had  blown 
out  a  man's  brains  on  the  steps  of  the  Treasury.  It 
was  a  most  unusual,  exciting,  and  tragic  incident,  and 
in  a  measure,  incomprehensible ;  and  coming  at  a  time 
when  there  was  a  dearth  of  news,  it  was  naturally 
much  exploited.  Many  of  the  papers  recognized  the 
fact  that  Miss  Asher  had  done  this  deed  to  save  her 
uncle's  life,  and  applauded  it,  and  praised  her  quick- 
wittedness  and  courage;  but  all  this  was  spoiled  for 
Olive  by  the  tone  of  commiseration  for  her  in  which  it 
was  all  stated.  She  did  not  see  why  she  should  be 
pitied.  Rather  should  she  be  congratulated  that  she 
was,  fortunately,  on  the  spot.  Other  journals  did  not 
so  readily  give  in  to  the  opinion  that  it  was  an  act  of 
self-defense.  It  might  be  so ;  but  they  expressed  strong 
disapproval  of  the  legal  action  in  this  strange  affair. 
A  young  woman,  accompanied  by  a  relative,  had  killed 
an  unknown  man.  The  action  of  the  authorities  in  this 
case  had  been  rapid  and  unsatisfactory.  The  person 
who  had  fired  the  fatal  shot  and  her  companion  had 
been  cleared  of  guilt  upon  their  own  testimony,  and 
the  cause  of  the  man  who  died  had  no  one  to  defend  it. 
If  two  persons  can  kill  a  man,  and  then  state  to  the 
coroner 's  jury  that  it  was  all  right,  and  thereupon  re 
pair  to  their  homes  without  further  interference  by 
the  law,  then  had  the  cause  of  justice  in  the  capital 
of  the  nation  reached  a  very  strange  pass. 

Such  were  the  views  of  the  reputable  journals.    But 
309 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

there  were  some  which  fell  into  the  captain's  hands 
that  were  well  calculated  to  arouse  his  ire.  Such  a 
sensational  occurrence  did  not  often  come  in  their 
way,  and  they  made  the  most  of  it.  They  scented 
the  idea  that  the  girl  had  killed  an  unknown  man 
to  save  her  uncle's  life;  blamed  the  authorities  se 
verely  for  not  finding  out  who  he  was;  suggested 
there  must  be  a  secret  reason  for  this;  and  hinted 
darkly  at  a  scandal  connected  with  the  affair,  which, 
if  investigated,  would  be  found  to  include  some  well- 
known  names. 

'  *  This  is  outrageous !  ' '  cried  the  captain.  "  It  is 
too  abominable  to  be  borne !  Olive,  why  should  we  not 
tell  the  exact  facts  of  this  thing  ?  We  did  agree — very 
willingly  at  the  time — to  keep  the  secret.  But  I  am 
not  willing  now,  and  you  are  being  sacrificed  to  the 
stock-market.  That  is  the  whole  truth  of  it !  If  these 
editors  knew  the  truth  they  would  be  chanting  your 
praises.  If  that  scoundrel  had  killed  me,  he  would 
have  killed  you,  and  then  he  could  have  run  away  to 
go  on  with  his  President  shooting.  I  am  going  to 
Washington  this  very  day  to  tell  the  whole  story.  You 
shall  not  suffer  that  stocks  may  not  fall  and  the  polit 
ical  situation  made  alarming  at  election  time.  That  is 
what  it  all  means,  and  I  won 't  stand  it !  " 

"  You  will  only  make  things  worse,  uncle,"  said 
Olive.  "  Then  the  whole  matter  will  be  stirred  up 
afresh.  We  will  be  summoned  to  investigations,  and 
all  sorts  of  disagreeable  things.  Every  item  of  our 
lives  will  be  in  the  papers,  and  some  will  be  invented. 
It  is  very  bad  now,  but  in  a  little  while  the  public 
will  forget  that  a  countryman  and  a  country  girl  had 

310 


DICK    DOES    NOT    WRITE 

a  fracas  in  Washington.  But  the  other  thing  will 
never  be  forgotten.  It  is  very  much  better  to  leave 
it  as  it  is." 

The  captain,  notwithstanding  the  presence  of  a 
lady,  cursed  the  officials,  the  newspapers,  the  Govern 
ment,  and  the  whole  country.  '  *  I  am  going  to  do  it !  " 
he  cried  vehemently.  ' '  I  don 't  care  what  happens !  ' : 

But  Olive  put  her  arms  around  him  and  coaxed  him 
for  her  sake  to  let  the  matter  rest.  And,  finally,  the 
captain,  grumblingly,  assented. 

If  Olive  had  been  a  girl  brought  up  in  a  gentle- 
minded  household,  knowing  nothing  of  the  varied  life 
she  had  lived  when  a  navy  girl ;  sometimes  at  this 
school  and  sometimes  at  that ;  sometimes  in  her  native 
land,  and  sometimes  in  the  midst  of  frontier  life ; 
sometimes  with  parents,  and  sometimes  without 
them ;  and,  had  she  been  less  aware  from  her  own 
experiences  and  those  of  others,  that  this  is  a  world 
in  which  you  must  stand  up  very  stiffly  if  you  do  not 
want  to  be  pushed  down ;  she  might  have  sunk,  at 
least  for  a  time,  under  all  this  publicity  and  blame. 
Even  the  praise  had  its  sting. 

But  she  did  not  sink.  The  liveliness  and  the  fun 
went  out  of  her,  and  her  face  grew  hard  and  her  man 
ner  quiet.  But  she  was  not  quiet  within.  She  rebelled 
against  the  unfairness  with  which  she  was  treated.  No 
matter  what  the  newspapers  knew  or  did  not  know, 
they  should  have  known,  and  should  have  remem 
bered,  that  she  had  saved  her  uncle's  life.  If  they 
had  known  more  they  would  have  been  just  and  kind 
enough  no  doubt,  but  they  ought  to  have  been  just 
and  kind  without  knowing  more. 

311 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Captain  Asher  would  now  read  no  more  papers. 
But  Olive  read  them  all. 

Letters  still  came;  one  of  them  from  Mr.  Easter- 
field.  But  every  time  a  mail  arrived  there  was  a  disap 
pointment  in  the  toll-gate  household.  The  captain 
could  scarcely  refrain  from  speaking  of  his  disappoint 
ment,  for  it  was  a  true  grief  to  him  that  Dick  Lancas 
ter  had  not  written  a  word.  Of  course,  Olive  did  not 
say  anything  upon  the  subject,  for  she  had  no  right  to 
expect  such  a  letter,  and  she  was  not  sure  that  she 
wanted  one,  but  it  was  very  strange  that  a  person  who 
surely  was,  or  had  been,  somewhat  interested  in  her 
uncle  and  herself  should  have  been  the  only  one  among 
her  recent  associates  wrho  showed  no  interest  whatever 
in  what  had  befallen  her.  Even  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox 
had  written.  She  wished  they  had  not  written,  but, 
after  all,  stupidity  is  sometimes  better  than  total 
neglect. 

11  Olive,"  said  the  captain  one  pleasant  after 
noon,  "  suppose  we  take  a  drive  to  Broadstone?  The 
family  is  not  there,  but  it  may  interest  you  to  see 
the  place  where  I  hope  your  friends  will  soon  be 
living  again.  I  can  not  bear  to  see  you  going  about 
so  dolefully.  I  want  to  brighten  you  up  in  some 
way. ' ' 

' '  I  'd  like  it, ' '  said  Olive  promptly.  ' '  Let  us  go  to 
Broadstone. ' ' 

At  that  moment  they  heard  talking  in  the  toll 
house  ;  then  there  were  some  quick  steps  in  the  garden ; 
and,  almost  immediately,  Dick  Lancaster  was  in  the 
house  and  in  the  room  where  the  captain  and  his  niece 
were  sitting.  He  stepped  quickly  toward  them  as  they 

312 


DICK    DOES    NOT    WRITE 

rose,  and  gave  Olive  his  left  hand  because  the  captain 
had  seized  his  right  and  would  not  let  it  go. 

"  I  have  been  very  slow  getting  here,"  he  said, 
looking  from  one  to  the  other.  "  But  I  would  not 
write,  and  I  have  been  unconscionably  delayed.  I  am 
so  proud  of  you,"  he  said,  looking  Olive  full  in  the 
face,  but  still  holding  the  captain  by  the  hand. 

Olive's  hand  had  been  withdrawn,  but  it  was  very 
cheering  to  her  to  know  that  some  one  was  proud 
of  her. 

The  captain  poured  out  his  delight  at  seeing  the 
young  professor — the  first  near  friend  he  had  seen  since 
his  adventure,  and,  in  his  opinion,  the  best.  Olive  said 
but  little,  but  her  countenance  brightened  wonder 
fully.  She  had  always  liked  Mr.  Lancaster,  and  now 
he  showed  his  good  sense  and  good  feeling ;  for,  while 
it  was  evidently  on  his  mind,  he  made  no  allusion  to 
anything  they  had  done,  or  that  had  happened  to 
them.  He  talked  chiefly  of  himself. 

But  the  captain  was  not  to  be  repressed,  and  his 
tone  warmed  up  a  little  as  he  asked  if  Dick  had  been 
reading  the  newspapers. 

At  this  Olive  left  the  room  to  make  some  arrange 
ments  for  Mr.  Lancaster's  accommodation. 

Seizing  this  opportunity,  Dick  Lancaster  stopped 
the  captain,  who  he  saw  was  preparing  to  go  lengthily 
into  the  recent  affair.  "  Yes,  yes,"  he  said,  speaking 
quickly,  "  and  my  blood  has  run  hot  as  I  read  those 
beastly  papers.  But  let  me  say  something  to  you  while 
I  can.  I  am  deeply  interested  in  something  else  just 
now.  I  came  here,  captain,  to  propose  marriage  to 
your  niece.  Have  I  your  consent  ?  ' ' 

313 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

11  Consent!  "  cried  the  captain.  "  Why,  it  is  the 
dearest  wish  of  my  heart  that  you  should  marry 
Olive !  ' '  And  seizing  the  young  man  by  both  arms, 
he  shook  him  from  head  to  foot.  '  *  Consent !  "  he  ex 
claimed.  ' '  I  should  think  so,  I  should  think  so !  Will 
she  take  you,  Dick?  Is  that— 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Lancaster,  "  I  don't  know. 
I  am  here  to  find  out.  But  I  hear  her  coming. ' ' 

The  happy  captain  thought  it  full  time  to  go  away 
somewhere.  He  felt  that  he  could  not  control  his 
glowing  countenance,  and  that  he  might  say  or  do 
something  which  might  be  wrong.  So  he  departed 
with  great  alacrity,  and  left  the  two  young  people  to 
themselves. 


314 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 

Miss  Port  puts  in  an  Appearance 

THE  captain  clapped  on  his  hat,  and  walked  up  the 
road  toward  Glenf  ord.  He  was  very  much  excited  and 
he  wanted  to  sing,  but  his  singing  days  were  over,  and 
he  quieted  himself  somewhat  by  walking  rapidly. 
There  was  a  buggy  coming  from  town,  but  it  stopped 
before  it  reached  him  and  some  one  in  it  got  out,  while 
the  vehicle  proceeded  slowly  onward.  The  some  one 
waited  until  the  captain  came  up  to  her.  It  was  Miss 
Maria  Port. 

* '  How  do  you  do  ?  "  she  said,  holding  out  her  hand. 
1  i  I  was  on  my  way  to  see  you. ' ' 

The  captain  put  both  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and 
his  face  grew  somewhat  dark.  ' '  Why  do  you  want  to 
see  me?  "  he  asked. 

She  looked  at  him  steadily  for  a  moment,  and  then 
answered,  speaking  very  quietly.  : '  I  found  that  Mr. 
Lancaster  had  arrived  in  town,  and  had  gone  to  your 
house,  and  that  he  was  in  such  a  hurry  that  he  walked. 
So  I  immediately  hired  a  buggy  to  come  out  here.  I 
am  very  glad  I  met  you. ' ' 

"  But  what  in  the  name  of  common  sense,"  ex 
claimed  the  captain,  "  did  you  come  to  see  me  for? 
What  difference  does  it  make  to  you  whether  Mr.  Lan- 

315 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

caster  is  here  or  not  ?  What  have  you  got  to  do  with 
me  and  my  affairs,  anyway  ?  ' ' 

She  smiled  a  smile  which  was  very  quiet  and  flat. 
:'  Now,  don't  get  angry,"  she  said.  "  We  can  talk 
over  things  in  a  friendly  way  just  as  well  as  not,  and  it 
will  be  a  great  deal  better  to  do  it.  And  I'd  rather 
talk  here  in  the  public  road  than  anywhere  else;  it's 
more  private." 

:  *  I  don 't  want  a  word  to  say  to  you, ' '  said  the  cap 
tain,  preparing  to  move  on.  "  I  have  nothing  at  all 
to  do  with  you. ' ' 

"  Ah,"  said  Miss  Port,  with  another  smile,  "  but 
I  think  you  have.  You've  got  to  marry  me,  you 
know. ' ' 

Then  the  captain  stopped  suddenly.  lie  opened 
his  mouth,  but  he  could  find  no  immediate  words. 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  said  Miss  Port,  now  speaking 
quietly ;  ' (  and  when  I  saw  Mr.  Lancaster  had  come  to 
town,  I  knew  that  I  must  see  you  at  once.  Of  course, 
he  has  come  to  take  away  your  niece,  and  that 's  the  best 
thing  to  be  clone,  for  she  wouldn't  want  to  keep  on 
livin'  here  where  so  many  people  have  known  her.  At 
first  I  thought  that  would  be  a  very  good  thing,  for  you 
would  be  separated  from  her,  and  that's  what  you 
need  and  deserve.  Young  men  are  young  men,  and 
they  are  often  a  good  deal  kinder  than  they  would  be 
if  they  stopped  to  think.  But  a  person  of  mature  age 
is  different.  He  would  know  what  is  due  to  himself 
and  his  standing  in  society.  At  least,  that  is  what  I 
did  think.  But  it  suddenly  flashed  on  me  that  they 
might  want  to  get  away  as  quick  as  they  could — 
which  would  be  proper,  dear  knows — and  it  would 

316 


MISS    PORT    APPEARS 

be  just  like  you  to  go  with  them.  And  so  I  came 
right  out." 

The  captain  had  listened  to  all  this  because  he  very 
much  wanted  to  know  what  she  had  to  say,  but  now  he 
exclaimed :  * '  Do  you  suppose  I  shall  pay  any  attention 
to  all  the  gossip  about  my  affairs?  " 

"  Now,  don't  go  on  like  that,"  said  Miss  Port;  "  it 
doesn't  do  any  good,  and  if  you'll  only  keep  quiet, and 
think  pleasantly  about  it,  there  will  be  no  trouble  at 
all.  You  know  you've  got  to  marry  me ;  that's  settled. 
Everybody  knows  about  it,  and  has  known  about  it  for 
years.  I  didn't  press  the  matter  while  father  was 
alive  because  I  knew  it  would  worry  him.  But  now 
I'm  going  to  do  it.  Not  in  any  anger  or  bad  feelin', 
but  gently,  and  as  firmly  as  if  I  was  that  tree.  I  don 't 
want  to  go  to  any  law,  but  if  I  have  to  do  it,  I  '11  do  it. 
I've  got  my  proofs  and  my  witnesses,  and  I'm  all  right. 
The  people  of  your  own  house  are  witnesses.  And 
there  are  ever  so  many  more. ' ' 

* '  Woman !  ' '  cried  the  captain,  ' '  don 't  you  say 
another  word !  And  don 't  you  ever  dare  to  speak  to 
me  again !  I  'm  not  going  away,  and  my  niece  is  not 
going  away ;  and  I  assure  you  that  I  hate  and  despise 
you  so  much  that  all  the  law  in  the  world  couldn  't  make 
me  marry  you.  Although  you  know  as  well  as  I  do 
that  all  you've  been  saying  has  no  sense  or  truth  in  it. ' ' 

Miss  Port  did  not  get  angry.  With  wonderful  self- 
repression  she  controlled  her  feelings.  She  knew  that 
if  she  lost  that  control  there  would  be  an  end  to  every 
thing.  She  grew  pale,  but  she  spoke  more  gently  than 
before.  "  You  know  " — she  was  about  to  say 
1  i  John, ' '  but  she  thought  she  would  better  not — ' '  that 

317 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

what  I  say  about  determination  and  all  that,  I  simply 
say  because  you  do  not  come  to  meet  me  half-way,  as  I 
wrould  have  you  do.  All  I  want  is  to  get  you  to  ac 
knowledge  my  rights,  to  defend  me  from  ridicule.  You 
know  that  I  am  now  alone  in  the  world,  and  have  no 
one  to  look  to  but  you — to  whom  I  always  expected  to 
look  when  father  died — and  if  you  should  carry  out 
your  cruel  words,  and  should  turn  from  me  as  if  I  was 
a  stranger  and  a  nobody,  after  all  these  years  of  visitin ' 
and  attention  from  you,  which  everybody  knows  about, 
and  has  talked  about,  I  could  never  expect  anybody 
else — you  bein'  gone — to  step  forward " 

At  this  the  face  of  the  captain  cleared,  and  as  he 
gazed  upon  the  unpleasant  face  and  figure  of  this 
wTeather-worn  spinster,  the  idea  that  any  one  with  mat 
rimonial  intentions  should  "  step  forward,"  as  she 
put  it,  struck  him  as  being  so  extremely  ludicrous  that 
he  burst  out  laughing. 

Then  leaped  into  fire  every  nervelet  of  Miss  Maria 
Port.  "  Laugh  at  me,  do  you?  "  cried  she.  "I'll 
give  you  something  to  laugh  at !  And  if  you  're  going 
to  stand  up  for  that  thing  you  have  in  your  house,  that 
murderess ' 

She  said  no  more.  The  captain  stepped  up  to  her 
with  a  smothered  curse  so  that  she  moved  back,  fright 
ened.  But  he  did  nothing.  He  was  too  enraged  to 
speak.  She  was  a  woman,  and  he  could  not  strike  her 
to  the  ground.  Before  her  sallow  venom  he  was  help 
less.  He  was  a  man  and  she  was  a  woman,  and  he 
could  do  nothing  at  all.  He  was  too  angry  to  stay 
there  another  second,  and,  without  a  word,  he  left  her, 
walking  with  great  strides  toward  the  town. 

318 


MISS    PORT    APPEARS 

Miss  Maria  Port  stood  looking  after  him,  panting  a 
little,  for  her  excitement  had  been  great.  Then,  with  a 
yellow  light  in  her  eyes,  she  hurried  toward  her  vehicle, 
which  had  stopped. 

As  Captain  Asher  strode  into  town  he  asked  him 
self  over  and  over  again  what  should  he  do?  How 
should  he  punish  this  wildcat — this  ruthless  creature, 
who  spat  venom  at  the  one  he  loved  best  in  the  world, 
and  who  threatened  him  with  her  wicked  claws  ?  In 
his  mind  he  looked  from  side  to  side  for  help ;  some 
one  must  fight  his  battle  for  him ;  he  could  not  fight  a 
woman.  He  had  not  reached  town  when  he  thought  of 
Mrs.  Faulkner,  the  wife  of  the  Methodist  minister. 
He  knew  her ;  she  and  her  husband  had  been  among  the 
friends  who  had  come  out  to  see  him;  and  she  was  a 
woman.  He  would  go  directly  to  her,  and  ask  her 
advice. 

The  captain  was  not  shown  into  the  parlor  of  the 
parsonage,  but  into  the  minister's  study,  that  gentle 
man  being  away.  He  heard  a  great 'sound  of  talking 
as  he  passed  the  parlor  door,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
Mrs.  Faulkner  came  in.  He  hesitated  as  she  greeted 
him. 

' '  You  have  company, ' '  he  said, ' '  but  can  I  see  you 
for  a  very  few  minutes  ?  It  is  important. ' ' 

"  Of  course  you  can,"  said  she,  closing  the  study 
door.  "  Our  Dorcas  Society  meets  here  to-day,  but 
we  have  not  yet  come  to  order.  I  shall  be  glad  to 
hear  what  you  have  to  say." 

So  they  sat  down,  and  he  told  her  what  he  had  to 
say,  and  as  she  listened  she  grew  very  angry.  When 
she  heard  the  epithet  which  had  been  applied  to 

319 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Olive  she  sprang  to  her  feet.  "  The  wretch!  "  she 
cried. 

' '  Now,  you  see,  Mrs.  Faulkner, ' '  said  the  captain, 
"  I  can  do  nothing  at  all  myself,  and  there  is  no  way 
to  make  use  of  the  law;  that  would  be  horrible  for 
Olive,  and  it  could  not  be  done ;  and  so  I  have  come  to 
ask  help  of  you.  I  don 't  see  that  any  other  man  could 
do  more  than  I  could  do." 

Mrs.  Faulkner  sat  silent  for  a  few  minutes.  "  I 
am  so  glad  you  came  to  me, ' '  she  said  presently.  '  *  I 
have  always  known  Miss  Port  as  a  scandal-monger 
and  a  mischief-maker,  but  I  never  thought  of  her  as  a 
wicked  woman.  This  persecution  of  you  is  shameful, 
but  when  I  think  of  your  niece  it  is  past  belief !  You 
are  right,  Captain  Asher;  it  must  be  a  woman  who 
must  take  up  your  cause.  In  fact,"  said  she  after  a 
moment's  thought,  "  it  must  be  women.  Yes,  sir." 
And  as  she  spoke  her  face  flushed  with  enthusiasm. 
* '  I  am  going  to  take  up  your  cause,  and  my  friends  in 
there,  the  ladies  of  the  Dorcas  Society,  will  stand  by 
me,  I  know.  I  don't  know  what  we  shall  do,  but  we 
are  going  to  stand  by  you  and  your  niece." 

Here  was  a  friend  worth  having.  The  captain  was 
very  much  affected,  and  was  moved  with  unusual 
gratitude.  He  had  been  used  to  fighting  his  own 
battles  in  this  world,  and  here  was  some  one  coming 
forward  to  fight  for  him. 

There  came  upon  him  a  feeling  that  it  would  be  a 
shame  to  let  this  true  lady  take  up  a  combat  which  she 
did  not  wholly  understand.  He  made  up  his  mind  in 
an  instant  that  he  would  not  care  what  danger  might 
be  threatened  to  other  people,  or  to  trade,  or  to  society, 

320 


MISS    PORT    APPEARS 

he  would  be  true  to  this  lady,  to  Olive,  and  to  himself. 
He  would  tell  her  the  whole  story.  She  should  know 
what  Olive  had  done,  and  how  little  his  poor  girl  de 
served  the  shameful  treatment  she  had  received. 

Mrs.  Faulkner  listened  with  pale  amazement;  she 
trembled  from  head  to  foot  as  she  sat. 

"  And  you  must  tell  no  one  but  your  husband," 
said  the  captain.  ' '  This  is  a  state  secret,  and  he  must 
promise  to  keep  it  before  you  tell." 

She  promised  everything.  She  would  be  so  proud 
to  tell  her  husband. 

When  the  captain  had  gone,  Mrs.  Faulkner,  in  a 
very  unusual  state  of  mind,  went  into  the  parlor,  took 
the  chair,  and  putting  aside  all  other  business,  told  to 
the  eagerly  receptive  members  the  story  of  Miss  Port 
and  Captain  Asher.  How  she  had  persecuted  him,  and 
maligned  him,  and  of  the  shameful  way  in  which  she 
had  spoken  of  his  niece.  But  not  one  word  did  she  tell 
of  the  story  of  the  two  gentlemen  in  the  barouche,  and 
of  the  air-gun.  She  was  wild  to  tell  everything,  but 
she  was  a  good  woman. 

' '  Now,  ladies, ' '  said  Mrs.  Faulkner,  ' '  in  my  opin 
ion,  the  thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  go  to  see  Maria  Port ; 
tell  her  what  we  think  of  her ;  and  have  all  this  wick 
edness  stopped." 

Without  debate  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  the 
president's  plan  should  be  carried  out.  And  within 
ten  minutes  the  whole  Dorcas  Society  of  eleven  mem 
bers  started  out  in  double  file  to  visit  the  house  of 
Maria  Port. 


321 


CHAPTER    XXXV 

The  Dorcas  on  Guard 

Miss  PORT  had  not  been  home  very  long  and  was 
up  in  her  bedroom,  which  looked  out  on  the  street,  when 
she  heard  the  sound  of  many  feet,  and,  hurrying  to  the 
window,  and  glancing  through  the  partly  open  shutters, 
she  saw  that  a  company  of  women  were  entering  the 
gate  into  her  front  yard.  She  did  not  recognize  them, 
because  she  was  not  familiar  with  the  tops  of  their 
hats ;  and  besides,  she  was  afraid  she  might  be  seen  if 
she  stopped  at  the  window ;  so  she  hurried  to  the  stair 
way  and  listened.  There  were  two  great  knocks  at  the 
door — entirely  too  loud — and  when  the  servant-maid 
appeared  she  heard  a  voice  which  she  recognized 
as  that  of  Mrs.  Faulkner  inquiring  for  her.  Instantly 
she  withdrew  into  her  chamber  and  waited,  her  coun 
tenance  all  alertness. 

When  the  maid  came  up  to  inform  her  that  Mrs. 
Faulkner  and  a  lot  of  ladies  were  down-stairs,  and 
wanted  to  see  her,  Miss  Port  knit  her  brows,  and  shut 
her  lips  tightly.  She  could  not  connect  this  visit  of 
so  many  Glenford  ladies  with  anything  definite;  and 
yet  her  conscience  told  her  that  their  business  in  some 
way  concerned  Captain  Asher.  He  had  had  time  to 
see  them,  and  now  they  had  come  to  see  her ;  probably 

322 


THE    DORCAS    ON    GUARD 

to  induce  her  to  relinquish  her  claims  upon  him.  As 
this  thought  came  into  her  mind  she  grew  angry  at 
their  impudence,  and,  seating  herself  in  a  rocking- 
chair,  she  told  the  servant  to  inform  the  ladies  that  she 
had  just  reached  home,  and  that  it  was  not  convenient 
for  her  to  receive  them  at  present. 

Mrs.  Faulkner  sent  back  a  message  that,  in  that 
case,  they  would  wait ;  and  all  the  ladies  seated  them 
selves  in  the  Port  parlor. 

'  *  The  impudence !  ' '  said  Miss  Port  to  herself ; 
"  but  if  they  like  waitin,'  they  can  wait.  I  guess 
they  '11  get  enough  of  it !  ' : 

So  Maria  Port  sat  in  her  room  and  the  ladies  sat  in 
the  parlor  below ;  and  they  sat,  and  they  sat,  and  they 
sat,  and  at  last  it  began  to  grow  dark. 

"  I  guess  they'll  be  wantin'  their  suppers,"  said 
Maria,  "  but  they'll  go  and  get  them  without  seein' 
me.  It's  no  more  convenient  for  me  to  go  down  now 
than  when  they  first  came." 

There  had  been,  and  there  was,  a  great  deal  of  con 
versation  down  in  the  parlor,  but  it  was  carried  on  in 
such  a  low  tone  that,  to  her  great  regret,  Miss  Port 
could  not  catch  a  word  of  it. 

* '  Now, ' '  said  Mrs.  Pilsbury,  ' '  I  must  go  home,  for 
my  husband  will  want  his  supper  and  the  children 
must  be  attended  to. ' ' 

"  And  so  must  I,"  said  Mrs.  Barney  and  Mrs. 
Sloan.  They  would  really  like  very  much  to  stay  and 
see  what  would  happen  next,  but  they  had  families. 

"  Ladies,"  said  Mrs.  Faulkner,  "  of  course,  we 
can't  all  stay  here  and  wait  for  that  woman ;  but  I  pro 
pose  that  three  of  us  shall  stay  and  that  the  rest  shall 
23  323 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

go  home.  I'll  be  one  to  stay.  And  then,  in  an  hour 
three  of  you  come  back,  and  let  us  go  and  get  our  sup 
pers.  In  this  way  we  can  keep  a  committee  here  all 
the  time.  All  night,  if  necessary.  When  I  come  back 
I  will  bring  a  candlestick  and  some  candles,  for,  of 
course,  we  don 't  want  to  light  her  lamps.  If  she  should 
come  down  while  I  am  away,  I  'd  like  some  one  to  run 
over  and  tell  me.  It's  such  a  little  way." 

At  this  the  ladies  arose,  and  there  was  a  great 
rustling  and  chattering,  and  the  face  of  Miss  Maria,  in 
the  room  above,  gleamed  with  triumph. 

"  I  knew  I'd  sit  'em  out,"  said  she ;  "  they  haven't 
got  the  pluck  I've  got."  But  when  the  servant  came 
up  and  told  her  that ' '  three  of  them  ladies  was  a-sittin' 
in  the  parlor  yet  and  said  they  was  a-goin'  to  wrait  for 
her,"  she  lost  her  temper.  She  sent  down  word  that 
she  didn't  intend  to  see  any  of  them,  and  she  wanted 
them  to  go  home. 

To  this  Mrs.  Faulkner  replied  that  they  wished  to 
see  her,  and  that  they  would  stay.  And  the  committee 
continued  to  sit. 

Now  Miss  Port  began  to  be  seriously  concerned. 
' '  What  in  the  world  could  these  women  want  ?  They 
were  very  much  in  earnest;  that  was  certain.  Could 
it  be  possible  that  she  had  said  more  than  she  intended 
to  Captain  Asher,  and  that  she  had  given  him  to  under 
stand  that  she  would  use  any  of  these  women  as  wit 
nesses  if  she  went  to  law?  Howrever,  whatever  they 
meant,  she  intended  to  sit  them  out.  So  she  told  her 
maid  to  make  her  some  tea  and  to  bring  it  up  with 
some  bread  and  butter  and  preserves,  and  a  light.  She 
also  ordered  her  to  be  careful  that  the  people  in  the 

324 


THE    DORCAS    ON    GUARD 

parlor  should  see  her  as  she  went  up-stairs.  ' '  I  guess 
they  '11  know  I  'm  in  earnest  when  they  see  the  tea, ' '  she 
said.  "  I've  set  out  a  mess  of  'em,  and  it  won't  take 
long  to  finish  up  them  three !  ' ' 

She  partook  of  her  refreshments,  and  she  reclined 
in  her  rocking-chair,  and  waited  for  the  hungry  ones 
below  to  depart.  "  I'll  give  'em  half  an  hour,"  said 
she  to  herself. 

Before  that  time  had  elapsed  she  heard  another  stir 
below,  and  she  exclaimed:  "  I  knew  it!  "  and  there 
were  steps  in  the  hallway,  and  some  people  went  out. 
She  sprang  to  her  feet;  she  was  about  to  run  down 
stairs  and  lock  and  bolt  every  door;  but  a  sound  ar 
rested  her.  It  was  the  talking  of  women  in  the  par 
lor.  She  stopped,  with  her  mouth  wide  open,  and  her 
eyes  staring,  and  then  the  servant  came  up  and  told 
her  that  * '  them  three  had  gone,  and  that  another  three 
had  come  back,  and  they  had  told  her  to  say  that  they 
were  goin'  to  stay  in  squads  all  night  till  she  came 
down  to  see  them. ' ' 

Miss  Port  sat  down,  her  elbows  on  the  table,  and  her 
chin  in  her  hands.  ' '  It  must  be  something  serious, ' ' 
she  thought.  '  *  The  ladies  of  this  town  are  not  in  the 
habit  of  staying  out  late  unless  it  is  to  nurse  bad  cases, 
or  to  sit  up  with  corpses. ' '  And  then  the  idea  struck 
her  that  probably  there  might  be  something  the  mat 
ter  that  she  had  not  thought  of.  She  had  caused  lots 
of  mischief  in  her  day,  and  it  might  easily  be  that  she 
had  forgotten  some  of  it.  But  the  more  she  thought 
about  the  matter,  the  more  firmly  she  resolved  not  to 
go  down  and  speak  to  the  women.  She  would  like  to 
send  for  a  constable  and  have  them  cleared  out  of  the 

325 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

house,  but  she  knew  that  none  of  the  three  constables  in 
town  would  dare  to  use  force  with  such  ladies  as  Mrs. 
Faulkner  and  the  members  of  the  Dorcas  Society. 

So  she  sat  and  waited,  and  listened,  and  grew  very 
nervous,  but  was  more  obstinate  now  than  ever,  for  she 
was  beginning  to  be  very  fearful  of  what  those  women 
might  have  to  say  to  her.  She  could  ' '  talk  down  one 
woman,  but  not  a  pack  of  'em."  Thus  time  passed  on, 
with  occasional  reports  from  the  servant  until  the  lat 
ter  fell  asleep,  and  came  up-stairs  no  more.  There  were 
sounds  of  footsteps  in  the  street,  and  Miss  Port  put 
out  her  light,  and  went  to  the  front  shutters.  Three 
women  were  coming  in.  They  entered  the  house,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  afterward  three  women  went  out. 
Miss  Port  stood  up  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  and 
was  almost  inclined  to  tear  her  hair. 

11  They're  goin'  to  stay  all  night!  "  she  exclaimed. 
' '  I  really  believe  they  're  goin '  to  stay  all  night !  ' ' 
For  a  moment  she  thought  of  rushing  down-stairs  and 
confronting  the  impertinent  visitors,  but  she  stopped ; 
she  was  afraid.  She  did  not  know  what  they  might 
say  to  her,  and  she  went  to  the  banisters  and  listened. 
They  were  talking ;  always  in  a  low  voice.  It  seemed 
to  her  that  these  people  could  talk  forever.  Then  she 
began  to  think  of  her  front  door,  which  was  open ;  but, 
of  course,  nobody  could  come  while  those  creatures 
were  in  the  parlor.  But  if  she  missed  anything  she'd 
have  them  brought  up  in  court  if  it  took  every  cent  she 
had  in  the  world  and  constables  from  some  other  town. 
She  slipped  to  the  back  stairs,  and  softly  called  the  serv 
ant,  but  there  was  no  answer.  She  was  afraid  to  go 
down,  for  the  back  door  of  the  parlor  commanded  all 

326 


THE    DORCAS    ON    GUARD 

the  other  rooms  on  that  floor.  Now  she  felt  more  ter 
ribly  lonely  and  more  nervous.  If  she  had  had  a  pistol 
she  would  have  fired  it  through  the  floor.  Then  those 
women  would  run  away,  and  she  would  fasten  up  the 
house.  But  there  they  sat,  chatter,  chatter,  chatter, 
till  it  nearly  drove  her  mad.  She  wished  now  she  had 
gone  down  at  first. 

After  a  time,  and  not  a  very  long  time,  there  were 
some  steps  in  the  street  and  in  the  yard,  and  more 
women  came  into  the  house,  but,  worse  than  that,  the 
others  stayed.  Family  duties  were  over  now,  and  those 
impudent  creatures  could  be  content  to  stay  the  rest 
of  the  evening. 

For  a  moment  the  worried  woman  felt  as  if  she 
would  like  to  go  to  bed  and  cover  up  her  head  and  so 
escape  these  persistent  persecutors.  But  she  shook 
her  head.  That  would  never  do.  She  knew  that  when 
she  awoke  in  the  morning  some  of  those  Avomen  would 
still  be  in  the  parlor,  and,  to  save  her  soul,  she  could 
not  now  imagine  what  it  was  that  kept  them  there  like 
hounds  upon  her  track. 

It  was  now  eleven  o'clock.  When  had  the  Port 
house  been  open  so  late  as  that?  The  people  in  the 
town  must  be  talking  about  it,  and  there  would  be 
more  talking  the  next  day.  Perhaps  it  might  be  in 
the  town  paper.  The  morning  would  be  worse  than  the 
night.  She  could  not  bear  it  any  longer.  There  was 
now  nothing  to  be  heard  in  front  but  that  maddening 
chatter  in  the  parlor,  and  up  the  back  stairs  came  the 
snores  of  the  servant.  She  got  a  traveling-bag  from 
a  closet  and  proceeded  to  pack  it ;  then  she  put  on  her 
bonnet  and  shawl  and  put  into  her  bag  all  the  money 

327 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

she  had  with  her,  trembling  all  the  time  as  if  she  had 
been  a  thief  robbing  her  own  house.  She  could  not  go 
down  the  back  stairs,  because,  as  has  been  said,  she  could 
have  been  seen  from  the  parlor;  but  a  carpenter  had 
been  mending  the  railing  of  a  little  piazza  at  the  back 
of  the  house,  and  she  remembered  he  had  left  his  lad 
der.  Down  this  ladder,  with  her  bag  in  her  hand,  Miss 
Port  silently  moved.  She  looked  into  the  kitchen ;  she 
could  not  see  the  servant,  but  she  could  hear  her  snor 
ing  on  a  bench.  Clapping  her  hand  over  the  girl's 
mouth,  she  whispered  into  her  ear,  and  without  a  word 
the  frightened  creature  sat  up  and  followed  Miss  Port 
into  the  yard. 

* '  Now,  then, ' '  said  Miss  Port,  whispering  as  if  she 
were  sticking  needles  into  the  frightened  girl,  "I'm 
goin'  away,  and  don't  you  ask  no  questions,  for  you 
won't  get  no  answers.  You  just  go  to  bed,  and  let 
them  people  stay  in  the  parlor  all  night.  They'll  be 
able  to  take  care  of  the  house,  I  guess,  and  if  they  don 't 
I  '11  make  'em  suffer.  In  the  morning  you  can  see  Mrs. 
Faulkner — for  she's  the  ringleader — and  tell  her  that 
you  're  goin '  home  to  your  mother,  and  that  Miss  Port 
expects  her  to  pull  down  all  the  blinds  in  this  house, 
and  shut  and  bolt  the  doors.  She  is  to  see  that  the 
eatables  is  put  away  proper  or  else  give  to  the  poor — 
which  will  be  you,  I  guess — and  then  she  is  to  lock  all 
the  doors  and  take  the  front-door  key  to  Squire  Allen, 
and  tell  him  I  '11  write  to  him.  And  what 's  more,  you 
can  say  to  the  nasty  thing  that  if  I  find  anything  wrong 
in  my  house,  or  anything  missin',  I'll  hold  her  and  her 
husband  responsible  for  it,  and  that  I'm  mighty  glad 
I  don't  belong  to  their  church." 

328 


THE    DORCAS    ON    GUARD 

Then  she  slipped  out  of  the  back  gate  of  the  yard, 
and  made  her  way  swiftly  to  the  railroad-station. 
There  was  a  train  for  the  north  which  passed  Glenford 
at  half -past  twelve,  and  which  could  be  flagged.  There 
was  one  man  at  the  station,  and  he  was  very  much  sur 
prised  to  see  Miss  Port. 

"  Is  anything  the  matter?  "  he  said. 

"  Yes,"  she  snapped,  "  there's  some  people  sick, 
and  I  guess  there'll  be  more  of  'em  a  good  deal  sicker 
in  the  morning.  I  've  got  to  go. ' ' 

"  A  case  of  pizenin'  ?  "  asked  the  man  .very  ear 
nestly. 

' '  Yes, ' '  said  she,  wrapping  her  shawl  around  her ; 
"  the  worse  kind  of  pizenin'!  "  Then  she  talked  no 
more. 

The  servant-girl  slept  late,  and  there  were  a  good 
many  ladies  in  the  parlor  when  she  came  down.  She  did 
not  give  them  a  chance  to  ask  her  anything,  but  told  her 
message  promptly.  It  was  a  message  pretty  fairly  re 
membered,  although  it  had  grown  somewhat  sharper 
in  the  night.  When  it  was  finished  the  girl  added: 
' '  And  I  'm  to  have  all  the  eatables  in  the  house  to  take 
home  to  my  mother,  and  Squire  Allen  is  to  pay  me  four 
dollars  and  seventy-five  cents,  which  has  been  owin'  to 
me  for  wages  for  ever  so  long." 


329 


CHAPTER    XXXVI 

Cold  Tinder 

OLIYE  and  Dick  Lancaster  sat  together  in  the  cap 
tain's  parlor.  She  was  very  quiet — she  had  been  very 
quiet  of  late — but  he  was  nervous. 

"It  is  very  kind,  Mr.  Lancaster,"  said  Olive, 
breaking  the  silence,  * '  for  you  to  come  to  see  us  instead 
of  writing.  It  is  so  much  pleasanter  for  friends — 

"  Oh,  it  was  not  kind,"  he  said,  interrupting  her. 
'  In  fact,  it  was  selfishness.  And  now  I  want  to  tell 
you  quickly,  Miss  Asher,  while  I  have  the  chance,  the 
reason  of  my  coming  here  to-day.  It  was  not  to  offer 
you  my  congratulations  or  my  sympathy,  although  you 
must  know  that  I  feel  for  you  and  your  uncle  as  much 
in  every  way  as  any  living  being  can  feel.  I  came  to 
offer  my  love.  I  have  loved  you  almost  ever  since  I 
knew  you  as  much  as  any  man  can  love  a  woman,  and 
whenever  I  have  been  with  you  I  could  hardly  hold 
myself  back  from  telling  you.  But  I  was  strong,  and  I 
did  not  speak,  for  I  knew  you  did  not  love  me." 

Olive  was  listening,  looking  steadily  at  him. 

"No,"  she  said,  "  I  did  not  love  you." 

He  paid  no  attention  to  this  remark,  as  if  it  related 
to  something  which  he  knew  all  about,  but  went  on, 
"  I  resolved  to  speak  to  you  some  time,  but  not  until 

330 


COLD    TINDER 

I  had  some  little  bit  of  a  reason  for  supposing  you 
would  listen  to  me;  but  when  I  read  the  account  of 
what  you  did  in  Washington,  I  knew  you  to  be  so  far 
above  even  the  girl  I  had  supposed  you  to  be ;  then  my 
love  came  down  upon  me  and  carried  me  away.  And 
all  that  has  since  appeared  in  the  papers  has  made  me 
so  long  to  stand  by  your  side  that  I  could  not  resist  this 
longing,  and  I  felt  that  no  matter  what  happened,  I 
must  come  and  tell  you  all. ' ' 

"And  now?  "  asked  Olive. 

"  There  is  nothing  more,"  said  Dick.  "  I  have 
told  you  all  there  is.  I  love  you  so  truly  that  it  seems 
to  me  as  if  I  had  been  born,  as  if  I  had  lived,  as  if  I  had 
grown  and  had  worked,  simply  that  I  might  be  able  to 
come  to  you  and  say,  I  love  you.  And  now  that  I  have 
told  you  this,  I  hope  that  I  have  not  pained  you." 

' '  You  have  not  pained  me, ' '  said  Olive,  *  *  but  it  is 
right  that  I  should  say  to  you  that  I  do  not  love 
you. ' '  She  said  this  very  quietly  and  gently,  but  there 
was  sadness  in  her  tones. 

Dick  Lancaster  sprang  up,  and  stood  before  her. 
' '  Then  let  me  love  you !  "  he  cried.  * '  Do  not  deny  me 
that !  Do  not  take  the  life  out  of  me  !  the  soul  out  of 
me  !  Do  not  turn  me  away  into  utter  blackness !  Do 
not  say  I  shall  not  love  you !  ' ' 

Olive 's  clear,  thoughtful  eyes  were  looking  into  his. 
"  I  believe  you  love  me,"  she  answered  slowly.  "  I 
believe  every  word  you  say.  But  what  I  say  is  also 
true.  I  will  admit  that  I  have  asked  myself  if  I  could 
love  you.  There  was  a  time  when  I  was  in  great 
trouble,  when  I  believed  that  it  might  be  possible  for 
me  to  marry  some  one  without  loving  him,  but  I  never 

331 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

thought  that  about  you.  You  .were  different.  I  could 
not  have  married  you  without  loving  you.  I  believe 
you  knew  that,  and  so  you  did  not  ask  me." 

His  voice  was  husky  when  he  spoke  again. 

"  But  you  do  not  answer  me,"  he  said.  "  You 
have  seen  into  my  very  soul.  May  I  love  you  ?  ' : 

She  still  looked  into  his  glowing  eyes,  but  she  did 
not  speak.  It  was  with  herself  she  was  communing, 
not  with  him. 

But  there  was  something  in  the  eyes  which  looked 
into  his  which  made  his  heart  leap,  and  he  leaned  for 
ward. 

' '  Olive, ' '  he  whispered,  '  *  can  you  not  love  me  1  ' ' 

Her  lips  appeared  as  if  they  were  about  to  move, 
but  they  did  not,  and  in  the  next  moment  they  could 
not.  He  had  her  in  his  arms. 

Poor  foolish,  lovely  Olive !  She  thought  she  was 
so  strong.  She  imagined  that  she  knew  herself  so  well. 
She  had  seen  so  much;  she  had  been  so  far;  she  had 
known  so  many  things  and  people  that  she  had  come 
to  look  upon  herself  as  the  decider  of  her  own  des 
tiny.  She  had  come  to  believe  so  much  in  herself  and 
in  her  cold  heart  that  she  was  not  afraid  to  listen  to  the 
words  of  a  burning  heart!  Her  heart  could  keep  so 
cool! 

And  now,  in  a  flash,  the  fire  had  spread !  The  cool 
est  hearts  are  often  made  of  tinder. 

Poor  foolish,  lovely,  happy  Olive!  She  scarcely 
understood  what  had  happened  to  her.  She  only  knew 
that  she  had  been  born  and  had  lived,  and  had  grown, 
that  he  might  come  to  her  and  say  he  loved  her.  What 
had  she  been  thinking  of  all  this  time? 

332 


COLD    TINDER 

1  i  You  are  so  quick, ' '  she  said,  as  she  put  back  some 
of  her  disheveled  hair. 

' '  Dearest, ' '  he  whispered,  ' '  it  seems  to  me  as  if  I 
had  been  so  slow,  so  slow,  so  very  slow !  ' ' 

It  was  a  long  time  before  Captain  Asher  returned, 
and  when  he  entered  the  parlor  he  found  these  two 
still  there.  They  had  been  sitting  by  the  window,  and 
when  they  came  forward  to  meet  him  Dick's  arm  was 
around  the  waist  of  Olive.  The  captain  looked  at  them 
for  a  moment,  and  then  he  gave  a  shout,  and  encircled 
them  both  in  his  great  arms. 

When  they  were  cool  enough  to  sit  down  and  Olive 
and  Dick  had  ceased  trying  to  persuade  the  captain 
that  he  was  not  the  happiest  of  the  three,  Olive  said  to 
him : '  *  I  have  told  Dick  everything — about  the  air-gun 
and  all.  Of  course,  he  must  know  it. ' ' 

' '  And  I  have  been  looking  at  you, ' '  said  Dick,  put 
ting  his  hand  upon  the  captain's  shoulder,  "  as  the 
only  hero  I  have  ever  met.  Not  only  for  what  you 
have  done,  but  for  what  you  have  refrained  from 
doing. ' ' 

' '  Nonsense !  ' '  said  the  captain.    ' '  Olive  now ' ' 

"Oh!  Olive  is  Olive!  "  said  Dick.  And  he  did 
not  mind  in  the  least  that  the  captain  was  present. 

It  was  on  the  next  afternoon  that  the  Broadstone 
carriage  stopped  at  the  toll-gate.  Mrs.  Easterfield 
sprang  out  of  it,  asking  for  nobody,  for  she  had  spied 
Olive  in  the  arbor. 

* '  It  seems  to  me, ' '  she  said,  as  she  burst  into  tears 
and  took  the  girl  into  her  arms,  "  it  does  seem  to  me 
as  if  I  were  your  own  mother !  ' ' 

333 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

"  The  only  one  I  have,"  said  Olive,  "  and  very 
dear!  " 

It  was  some  time  after  this  that  Mrs.  Easterneld 
was  calm  enough  to  stop  the  flow  of  exciting  conversa 
tion  and  to  say  to  Olive,  taking  both  her  hands  ten 
derly  within  her  own : '  *  My  dear,  we  have  been  talking 
a  great  deal  of  sentiment,  and  now  I  want  seriously  to 
speak  to  you  on  a  matter  of  business. ' ' 

' '  Business !  ' '  asked  Olive  in  surprise. 

* l  Yes,  it  is  really  business  from  your  point  of  view ; 
and  I  have  come  round  to  that  point  of  view  myself. 
Olive,  I  want  you  to  marry !  ' ' 

"Oh,"  said  Olive,  ' '  that  is  it,  is  it  ?  That  is  what 
you  call  business?  >: 

"  Yes,  dear;  I  am  now  looking  at  your  future, 
and  at  marriage  in  the  very  sensible  way  you  re 
garded  those  matters  when  you  were  staying  with 
me." 

"  But,"  said  Olive,  who  could  scarcely  help  laugh 
ing,  "  there  was  a  good  reason  then  for  my  being  so 
sensible,  and  that  reason  no  longer  exists.  I  can  now 
afford  single-blessedness. ' ' 

'  *  No,  Olive,  dear,  you  can  not.  Circumstances  are 
all  against  that  consummation.  You  are  not  made  for 
that  sort  of  thing.  And  your  uncle  is  an  old  man,  and 
even  with  him  you  need  a  young  protector.  I  want 
you  to  marry  Richard  Lancaster.  You  know  my  heart 
has  been  set  on  it  for  some  time,  and  now  I  urge  it. 
You  could  never  bring  forth  a  single  objection  to 
him." 

"  Except  that  I  did  not  love  him." 
'  Neither  did  you  love  the  young  men  you  were 
334 


COLD    TINDER 

considering1  as  eligible.  Now,  do  try  to  be  a  sensible 
girl." 

"  Mrs.  Easterfield,  are  you  laughing  at  me  ?  "  asked 
Olive. 

"  Far  from  it,  my  dear.  I  am  desperately  in 
earnest.  You  see,  recent  events " 

* '  Dick  Lancaster  and  I  are  engaged  to  be  married, ' ' 
said  Olive  demurely,  not  waiting  for  the  end  of  that 
sentence.  "  And,"  she  added,  laughing  at  Mrs.  Eas 
terfield  's  astonished  countenance, ' '  I  have  not  yet  con 
sidered  whether  or  not  it  is  sensible. ' ' 

After  Mrs.  Easterfield  had  given  a  half  dozen 
kisses  to  partly  express  her  pleasure,  she  said:  "And 
where  is  he  now  ?  I  must  see  him !  ' : 

"  He  went  back  to  his  college  late  last  night;  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  stay  here  any  longer  at 
present. ' ' 

As  Mrs.  Easterfield  was  going  away — she  had 
waited  and  waited  for  the  captain  who  had  not  come 
— Olive  detained  her. 

' '  You  are  so  dear, ' '  she  said, ' '  that  I  must  tell  you 
a  great  thing."  And  then  she  told  the  story  of  the 
two  men  in  the  barouche. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  turned  pale,  and  sat  down  again. 
She  had  actually  lost  her  self-possession.  She  made 
Olive  tell  her  the  story  over  and  over  again.  "  It  is 
too  much,"  she  said,  "  for  one  day.  I  am  glad  the 
captain  is  not  here,  I  would  not  know  what  to  say  to 
him.  I  may  tell  Tom  ?  ' '  she  said.  ' '  I  must  tell  him ; 
he  will  be  silent  as  a  rock." 

Olive  smiled.  "  Yes,  you  may  tell  Tom,"  she  said. 
335 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

1 '  I  have  told  Dick,  but  on  no  account  must  Harry  ever 
know  anything  about  it." 

Mrs.  Easterfield  looked  at  her  in  amazement.  That 
the  girl  could  joke  at  such  a  moment! 

When  the  captain  came  home  Olive  told  him  how 
she  had  entrusted  the  great  secret  to  Mrs.  Easterfield 
and  her  husband. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  intended  to  tell  you,  but 
haven't  had  a  chance  yet,  that  I  spoke  of  the  matter  to 
Mrs.  Faulkner.  So  I  have  told  two  persons  and  you 
have  told  three,  and  I  suppose  that  is  about  the  pro 
portion  in  which  men  and  women  keep  secrets. ' ' 


336 


CHAPTER    XXXVII 

In  which  Some  Great  Changes  are  Recorded 

A  FEW  days  after  his  return  to  his  college  Prof. 
Richard  Lancaster  found  among  his  letters  one  signed 
"  Your  backer,  Claude  Locker." 

The  letter  began :  ' '  You  owe  her  to  me.  You 
should  never  forget  that.  If  I  had  done  better  no  one 
can  say  what  might  have  been  the  result.  This  propo 
sition  can  not  be  gainsaid,  for  as  no  one  ever  saw  me 
do  better,  how  should  anybody  know?  I  knew  I  was 
leaving  her  to  you.  She  might  not  have  known  it,  but 
I  did.  I  did  not  suppose  it  would  come  so  soon,  but  I 
was  sure  it  would  ultimately  come  to  pass.  It  has 
come  to  pass,  and  I  feel  triumphant.  In  the  great  race 
in  which  I  had  the  honor  to  run,  you  made  a  most  ad 
mirable  second.  The  best  second  is  he  who  comes  in 
first.  In  order  for  a  second  to  take  first  place  it  is 
necessary  that  the  leader  in  the  race,  be  that  leader 
horse,  man,  or  boat,  should  experience  a  change  in  con 
ditions.  I  experienced  such  a  change,  voluntary  or 
involuntary  it  is  unnecessary  to  say.  You  came  in 
first,  and  I  congratulate  you  as  no  living  being  can 
congratulate  you  who  has  not  felt  for  a  moment  or  two 
that  it  was  barely  possible  that  he  might,  in  some 

337 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

period  of  existence,  occupy  the  position  which  you  now 
hold. 

* '  Do  not  be  surprised  if  you  hear  of  my  early  mar 
riage.  Some  woman  no  better-looking  than  I  am  may 
seek  me  out.  If  this  should  happen,  and  you  know  of 
it,  please  think  of  me  with  gratitude,  and  remember 
that  I  was  once 

"  Your  backer, 

"  CLAUDE  LOCKER." 

Olive  also  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Locker,  which 
ran  thus : 

"  Mrs.  Easterfield  told  me.  She  wrote  me  a  letter 
about  it,  and  I  think  her  purpose  was  to  make  me 
thoroughly  understand  that  I  was  not  in  this  matter  at 
all.  She  did  not  say  anything  of  the  kind,  but  I  think 
she  thought  it  would  be  a  dreadful  thing,  if  by  any  act 
of  mine,  I  should  cause  you  to  reconsider  your  arrange 
ment  with  Professor  Lancaster.  I  have  written  to  the 
said  professor,  and  have  told  him  that  it  is  not  im 
probable  that  I  shall  soon  marry.  I  don't  know  yet 
to  what  lady  I  shall  be  united,  but  I  believe  in  the  truth 
of  the  adage, '  that  all  things  come  to  those  who  can  not 
wait. '  They  are  in  such  a  hurry  that  they  take  what 
they  can  get. 

11  If  you  do  not  think  that  this  is  a  good  letter, 
please  send  it  back  and  I  will  write  another.  What  I 
am  trying  to  say  is,  that  I  would  sacrifice  my  future 
wife,  no  matter  who  she  may  be,  to  see  you  happy. 
And  now  believe  me  always 

"  Your  most  devoted  acquaintance, 

"  CLAUDE  LOCKER. 
338 


GREAT    CHANGES    ARE    RECORDED 

"  P.  S. — Wouldn't  it  be  a  glorious  thing  if  you 
were  to  be  married  in  church  with  all  the  rejected  suit 
ors  as  groomsmen  and  Lancaster  as  an  old  Roman  con 
queror  with  the  captive  princess  tied  behind !  ' ' 

Now  that  all  the  turmoil  of  her  life  was  over,  and 
Olive  at  peace  with  herself,  her  thoughts  dwelt  with 
some  persistency  upon  two  of  her  rejected  suitors. 
Until  now  she  had  had  but  little  comprehension  of  the 
love  a  man  may  feel  for  a  woman — perhaps  because 
she  herself  never  loved — but  now  she  looked  back  upon 
that  period  of  her  life  at  Broadstone  with  a  good  deal 
of  compunction.  At  that  time  it  had  seemed  to  her 
that  it  really  made  very  little  difference  to  her  three 
lovers  which  one  she  accepted,  or  if  she  rejected  them 
all.  But  now  she  asked  herself  if  it  could  be  possible 
that  Du  Brant  and  Hemphill  had  for  her  anything  of 
the  feeling  she  now  had  for  Dick  Lancaster.  (Locker 
did  not  trouble  her  mind  at  all.)  If  so,  she  had  treated 
them  with  a  cruel  and  shameful  carelessness.  She  had 
really  intended  to  marry  one  of  them,  but  not  from 
any  good  and  kind  feeling;  she  was  actuated  solely 
by  pique  and  self-interest ;  and  she  had,  perhaps,  sac 
rificed  honest  love  to  her  selfishness;  and,  what  was 
worse,  had  treated  it  with  what  certainly  appeared  like 
contempt,  although  she  certainly  had  not  intended 
that. 

She  felt  truly  sorry,  and  cast  about  in  her  mind  for 
some  means  of  reparation.  She  could  think  of  but  one 
way :  to  find  for  each  of  them  a  very  nice  girl — a  great 
deal  nicer  than  herself — and  to  marry  them  all  with 
her  blessing.  But,  unfortunately  for  this  scheme, 
24  339 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

Olive  had  no  girl  friends.  She  had  acquaintances 
* '  picked  up  here  and  there, ' '  as  she  said,  but  she  knew 
very  little  about  any  of  them,  and  not  one  of  them 
.had  ever  struck  her  as  being  at  all  angelic  or  superior 
in  any  way.  Neither  of  the  young  men  who  were  lying 
so  heavily  on  her  rnind  had  written  to  any  one,  either 
at  the  toll-gate  or  at  Broadstone,  since  the  very  public 
affair  in  which  she  had  played  a  conspicuous  part; 
and  her  consolation  was  that  as  each  one  had  read 
that  account  he  had  said  to  himself :  *  *  I  am  thankful 
that  girl  did  not  accept  me!  What  a  fortunate  es 
cape!  n  But  still  she  washed  that  she  had  behaved 
differently  at  Broadstone. 

She  said  nothing  to  any  one  of  these  musings,  but 
she  ventured  one  day  to  ask  Mr.  Easterfield  how  Mr. 
Hemphill  was  faring.  His  reply  was  only  half  satis 
factory.  He  reported  the  young  man  as  doing  very 
well,  and  being  well ;  he  was  growing  fat,  and  that  did 
not  improve  his  looks;  and  he  was  getting  more  and 
more  taciturn  and  self-absorbed.  '  Why  was  he  taci 
turn  ?  ' '  Olive  asked  herself.  * '  Was  he  brooding  and 
melancholy  ?  ' :  She  did  not  know  anything  about  the 
fat,  and  what  might  be  its  primal  cause;  but  her  mind 
was  not  set  at  ease  about  him. 

Things  went  on  quietly  and  pleasantly  at  the  toll- 
gate,  and  at  Broadstone.  Dick  came  down  as  often  as 
he  could  and  spent  a  day  or  two  (usually  including 
a  Sunday)  with  Olive  and  her  uncle.  It  was  now  Oc 
tober,  and  colleges  were  in  full  tide.  It  was  also  the 
hunting  season,  and  that  meant  that  Mr.  Tom  wTould 
be  at  Broadstone  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  and  Mrs.  Eas 
terfield  said  she  must  have  Olive  at  that  time.  And,  in 

340 


GREAT    CHANGES    ARE    RECORDED 

order  to  make  the  house  lively,  she  invited  Lieutenant 
Asher  and  his  wife  at  the  same  time,  as  Olive  and  her 
young  stepmother  were  now  very  good  friends.  Then 
the  captain  invited  his  old  friend  Captain  Lancaster, 
Dick's  father,  to  visit  him  at  the  toll-gate. 

These  were  bright  days  for  these  old  shipmates; 
and,  strange  to  say,  as  they  sat  and  puffed,  they  did  not 
talk  so  much  of  things  that  had  been,  as  they  puffed 
and  made  plans  of  things  which  were  to  be.  And  these 
plans  always  concerned  the  niece  of  one,  and  the  son  of 
the  other.  Captain  Asher  was  not  at  all  satisfied  with 
Dick's  position  in  the  college.  He  could  not  see  how 
eminence  awaited  any  young  man  who  taught  theories ; 
he  would  like  Dick 's  future  to  depend  on  facts. 

*  Two  and  two  make  four, ' '  said  he ;  "  there  is  no 
need  of  any  theory  about  that,  and  that's  the  sort  of 
thing  that  suits  me. ' ' 

Captain  Lancaster  smiled.  He  was  a  dry  old  salt, 
and  listened  more  than  he  talked. 

"  Just  now,"  he  remarked,  ll  I  guess  Dick  will 
stick  to  his  theories,  and  for  a  while  he  won 't  be  apt  to 
give  his  mind  to  mathematics  very  much,  except  to  that 
kind  of  figuring  which  makes  him  understand  that  one 
and  one  makes  one." 

There  was  a  thing  the  two  old  mates  were  agreed 
upon.  No  matter  what  Dick's  position  might  be  in 
the  college,  his  salary  should  be  as  large  as  that  of  any 
other  professor.  They  could  do  it,  and  they  would  do 
it.  They  liked  the  idea,  and  they  shook  hands  over  it. 

Olive  was  greatly  pleased  with  Captain  Lancaster. 
"  There  is  the  scent  of  the  sea  about  him,"  she  wrote 
to  Dick, ' '  as  there  is  about  Uncle  John  and  father,  but 

341 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

it  is  different.  It  is  constant  and  fixed,  like  the  smell 
of  salt  mackerel.  He  would  never  keep  a  toll-gate; 
nor  would  he  marry  a  young  wife.  Not  that  I  object 
to  either  of  these  things,  for  if  the  one  had  not  hap 
pened  I  would  never  have  known  you ;  and  if  the  other 
had  not  happened,  I  might  not  have  become  engaged  to 
you." 

The  two  captains  dined  at  Broadstone  while  Olive 
was  there,  and  Captain  Lancaster  highly  approved  of 
Mrs.  Easterfield.  All  seafaring  men  did — as  well  as 
most  other  men. 

"  It  is  a  shame  she  had  to  marry  a  landsman, ' '  said 
Captain  Lancaster,  when  he  and  Captain  John  had 
gone  home.  "  It  seems  to  me  she  would  have  suited 
you." 

* '  You  might  mention  that  the  next  time  you  go  to 
her  house,"  said  Captain  Asher.  "  I  don't  believe 
it  has  ever  been  properly  considered. ' ' 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Olive 's  mind  was  set  at  rest 
about  one  of  her  discarded  lovers.  Mr.  Du  Brant 
wrote  her  a  letter. 

11  MY  DEAR  Miss  ASHER — It  is  very  long  since  I 
have  had  any  communication  with  you,  but  this  silence 
on  my  part  has  been  the  result  of  circumstances,  and 
not  owing,  I  assure  you  upon  my  honor,  to  any  dimi 
nution  of  the  great  regard  (to  use  a  moderate  term) 
which  I  feel  for  you.  I  had  not  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
you  when  I  left  Broadstone,  but  our  mutual  friend, 
Mrs.  Easterfield,  told  me  you  had  sent  to  me  a  message. 
I  firmly  (but  I  trust  politely)  declined  to  receive  it. 
And  so,  my  dear  Miss  Asher,  as  the  offer  I  made  you 

342 


GREAT    CHANGES    ARE    RECORDED 

then  has  never  received  any  acknowledgment,  I  write 
now  to  renew  it.  I  lay  my  heart  at  your  feet,  and  en 
treat  you  to  do  me  the  honor  of  accepting  my  hand  in 
marriage. 

"And  let  me  here  frankly  state  that  when  first  I 
read  of  your  great  deed — you  are  aware,  of  course,  to 
what  I  refer — I  felt  I  must  banish  all  thought  of  you 
from  my  heart.  Let  me  explain  my  position.  I  had 
just  received  news  of  the  death  of  my  uncle,  Count 
Rosetra,  and  that  I  had  inherited  his  title  and  estates. 
It  is  a  noble  name,  and  the  estates  are  great.  Could 
I  confer  these  upon  one  who  was  being  so  publicly 
discussed — the  actor  in  so  terrible  a  drama?  I  owed 
more  to  society,  and  to  my  noble  race,  and  to  my  coun 
try  than  I  had  done  before  becoming  a  noble.  But 
ah,  my  torn  heart !  0  Miss  Asher,  that  heart  was  true 
to  you  through  all,  and  has  asserted  itself  in  a  vehe 
ment  way.  I  recognized  your  deed  as  noble ;  I  thought 
of  your  beauty  and  your  intellect ;  of  your  attractive 
vivacity ;  of  your  manner  and  bearing,  all  so  fine ;  and 
I  realized  how  you  would  grace  my  title  and  my 
home ;  how  you  would  help  me  to  carry  out  the  great 
ambitions  I  have. 

"  Will  you,  lady,  deign  to  accept  my  homage  and 
my  love  ?  A  favorable  answer  will  bring  me  to  make 
my  personal  solicitations. 

' t  Your  most  loving  and  faithful  servant, 

"  CHRISTIAN  Du  BRANT. 
11  (Now  Count  Rosetra.)" 

' '  What  a  bombastic  mixture !  ' '  thought  Olive,  as 
she  read  this  effusion.  ' '  I  wonder  if  there  is  any  real 

343 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

love  in  it !     If  there  is,  it  is  so  smothered  it  is  easily 
extinguished." 

And  she  extinguished  it;  and  thoughts  of  Count 
Rosetra  troubled  her  no  more. 

She  did  not  show  Dick  this  letter,  but  she  thought 
it  due  to  Mrs.  Easterfield  to  read  it  to  her.  "  He  has 
got  it  into  his  head  that  an  American  woman,  such  as 
you,  will  make  his  house  attractive  to  people  he  wants 
there,"  commented  that  lady.  "  You  have  not  con 
sidered  me  at  all,  you  ungrateful  girl !  Only  think 
how  I  could  have  exploited  *  my  friend,  the  countess  ' ! 
And  what  a  fine  place  for  me  to  visit !  ' ' 

It  had  been  arranged  by  the  two  houses  that  Dick 
and  Olive  should  be  married  in  the  early  summer  when 
the  college  closed ;  and  Mrs.  Easterfield  had  arranged 
in  her  own  mind  that  the  wedding  should  be  in  her 
city  house.  It  would  not  be  too  late  in  the  season  for 
a  stylish  wedding — a  thing  Mrs.  Easterfield  had  often 
wished  she  could  arrange,  and  it  was  hopeless  to  think 
of  waiting  until  her  little  ones  could  help  her  to  this 
desire  of  her  heart.  She  held  this  great  secret  in  re 
serve,  however,  for  a  delightful  surprise  at  the  proper 
time. 

But  she  and  Olive  both  had  a  wedding  surprise  be 
fore  Olive's  visit  was  finished.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  day 
before  Olive's  return  to  the  toll-gate  that  Mr.  Easter 
field  walked  in  upon  them  as  they  were  sitting  at  work 
in  Mrs.  Easterfield 's  room.  He  had  been  unexpectedly 
summoned  to  the  city  three  days  before,  and  had  gone 
with  no  explanation  to  his  wife.  She  did  not  think 
much  about  it,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  going  and  com 
ing  in  a  somewhat  erratic  manner. 

344 


GREAT    CHANGES    ARE    RECORDED 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  she  said,  looking  at  him  crit 
ically  after  the  first  greetings,  * '  that  you  have  an  im 
portant  air." 

' '  I  am  the  bearer  of  important  news, ' '  he  said,  puf 
fing  out  his  cheeks. 

In  answer  to  the  battery  of  excited  inquiries  which 
opened  upon  him  he  finally  said :  "  I  was  solemnly  in 
vited  to  town  to  attend  a  solemn  function,  and  I  sol 
emnly  went,  and  am  now  solemnly  returned. ' ' 

"  Pshaw!  "  said  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  I  don't  be 
lieve  it's  anything." 

"  A  wedding  is  something.  A  very  great  some 
thing.  It  is  a  solemn  thing;  and  made  more  solemn 
by  the  loss  of  my  secretary. ' ' 

' '  What !  ' '  almost  screamed  his  wife.  t '  Mr. 
HemphilH  " 

' '  The  very  man.  And,  0  Miss  Olive,  if  you  could 
but  have  seen  him  in  his  wedding-clothes  your  heart 
would  have  broken  to  think  that  you  had  lost  the  op 
portunity  of  standing  by  them  at  the  altar." 

"  But  who  was  the  bride?  "  asked  Mrs.  Easterfield 
impatiently. 

"  Miss  Eliza  Grogworthy." 

"  Now,  Tom,  I  know  you  are  joking!  Why  can't 
you  be  serious?  " 

"  I  am  as  serious  as  were  that  couple.  I  have 
known  her  for  some  time,  and  she  was  very  visible. ' ' 

' '  Why,  she  is  old  enough  to  be  his  mother !  ' ' 

"  Not  quite,  my  dear.  In  such  a  case  as  this,  one 
must  be  particular  about  ages.  She  is  a  few  years 
older  than  he  is  probably,  but  she  is  not  bad  looking, 
and  a  good  woman  with  a  nice  big  house  and  lots  of 

345 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

money.  He  has  walked  out  of  my  office  into  a  fine 
position,  and  I  unselfishly  congratulated  him  with  all 
my  heart." 

' '  Poor  Mr.  Hemphill !  ' '  sighed  Olive.  She  was 
thinking  of  the  very  young  man  she  had  sighed  for 
when  a  very  young  girl. 

"  He  needs  no  pity,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield  seri 
ously.  "  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  he  feels  glad 
that  he  was  not — well,  we  won 't  say  what, ' '  he  added, 
looking  mischievously  at  Olive.  "  This  is  really  a 
great  deal  better  thing  for  him.  He  is  not  a  favorite 
of  my  wife,  but  he  is  a  thoroughly  good  fellow  in  his 
way,  and  I  have  always  liked  him.  There  were  certain 
things  necessary  to  him  in  this  life,  and  he  has  got 
them.  That  can  not  be  said  about  everybody  by  a  long 
shot !  No,  he  is  to  be  congratulated. ' ' 

Olive  was  silent.  She  was  trying  to  make  up  her 
mind  that  he  was  really  to  be  congratulated,  and  to 
get  rid  of  a  lingering  doubt. 

* '  Well,  that  is  the  end  of  him  in  our  affairs !"  ex 
claimed  Mrs.  Easterfield.  "  Why  didn't  you  tell  us 
what  you  were  going  to  town  for?  '; 

*  *  Because  he  asked  me  not  to  mention  it  to  any  one. 
And,  besides,  that  is  not  all  I  went  to  town  for." 

"  Oh,"  said  his  wife,  "  any  more  weddings?  " 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Easterfield,  helping  himself  to  an 
easy  chair.  "  You  know  I  have  lately  been  so  much 
with  nautical  people  I  have  acquired  a  taste  for  the 
sea." 

"  I  did  not  know  it,"  said  his  wife;  "  but  what 
of  it?  " 

'  *  Well,  as  Lieutenant  Asher  and  his  wife  are  here 
346 


GREAT    CHANGES    ARE    RECORDED 

yet,  and  have  no  earthly  reason  for  being  anywhere  in 
particular ;  and  as  Captain  Asher  seems  to  be  tired  of 
the  toll-gate;  and  as  Captain  Lancaster  doesn't  care 
where  he  is;  and  as  Miss  Olive  doesn't  know  what  to 
do  with  herself  until  it  is  time  for  her  to  get  married ; 
and  as  you  are  always  ready  to  go  gadding ;  and  as  the 
children  need  bracing  up  ;  and  as  you  can  not  get  along 
without  Miss  Raleigh;  and  as  Mrs.  Blynn  is  a  good 
housekeeper;  and  as  I  have  an  offer  for  renting  our 
town  house ;  I  propose  that  we  all  go  to  sea  together. ' ' 

The  two  ladies  had  listened  breathlessly  to  these 
words,  and  now  Olive  sprang  up  in  great  excitement, 
and  Mrs.  Easterfield  clapped  her  hands  in  delight. 

'  *  How  clever  you  are,  Tom !  ' '  she  exclaimed. 
* '  What  a  splendid  idea !  How  can  we  go  ?  ' : 

"  I  have  leased  a  yacht,  and  we  are  going  to  the 
Mediterranean. ' ' 


347 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII 

"  It  has  just  Begun  !  " 

THIS  wonderful  scheme  which  Mr.  Easterfield  had 
planned  and  carried  out  met  with  general  favor. 
Perhaps  if  they  had  all  been  consulted  before  he  made 
the  plan  there  would  have  been  many  alterations,  and 
discussions,  and  doubts.  But  the  thing  was  done,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  say  but  "  Yes  "  or  "  No."  The 
time  had  come  for  the  house  party  at  Broadstone  to 
break  up,  and  the  lieutenant  and  Mrs.  Asher  had  ar 
ranged  to  spend  the  next  few  months  in  the  city,  but 
they  gladly  accepted  Mr.  Easterfield 's  generous  invi 
tation  and  would  return  to  the  toll-gate  after  a  few 
weeks  preparatory  to  sailing,  that  the  party  might  get 
together,  for  Captain  Lancaster  was  to  remain  at  the 
tollhouse.  Mr.  Easterfield  also  invited  Claude  Locker 
11  to  make  things  lively  in  rough  weather,"  and  that 
young  man  accepted  with  much  alacrity. 

Mrs.  Easterfield  was  in  such  a  state  of  delight  that 
she  nearly  lost  her  self-possession.  Sometimes,  her 
husband  told  her,  she  scarcely  spoke  rationally.  If 
she  had  been  asked  to  wish  anything  that  love  or  money 
could  bring  her,  it  would  have  been  this  very  thing; 
but  she  would  not  have  believed  it  possible.  She  was 
busy  everywhere  planning  for  everybody,  and  making 

348 


"IT    HAS    JUST    BEGUN!" 

out  various  lists.  But,  as  she  said,  there  is  a  little 
black  spot  in  almost  every  joy.  And  her  little  black 
spot  was  Dick  Lancaster. 

' '  Poor  Professor  Lancaster !  ' '  she  said  to  her  hus 
band.  "  We  to  have  such  a  great  pleasure,  and  he 
shut  up  in  close  rooms !  And  Olive  far  away !  ' : 

"  Are  you  sure  about  Olive?  "  asked  Mr.  Easter- 
field.  "  She  has  never  said  positively  that  she  is 
going.  I  most  earnestly  hope  that  she  will  not  back 
out  because  Lancaster  can  not  go.  If  she  stays  her 
uncle  will  stay." 

' '  And  for  that  very  reason  she  will  go, ' '  said  Mrs. 
Easterfield.  "  And  I  think  Professor  Lancaster  will 
urge  her  to  go.  He  is  unselfish  enough,  I  am  sure,  to 
wish  her  to  have  this  great  pleasure.  And,  talking  of 
Olive,  one  thing  is  certain,  Tom,  we  must  be  back  early 
in  the  spring.  There  will  be  a  great  deal  to  do  before 
the  wedding.  And,  0  Tom,  I  will  tell  you — but  you 
must  not  tell  any  one,  for  I  am  keeping  it  for  a  sur 
prise — I  am  going  to  give  them  a  fine  wedding.  They 
will  be  married  in  church,  of  course,  but  the  reception 
will  be  at  our  house.  You  will  like  that,  I  know. ' ' 

61  Will  there  be  good  eating?  " 

"  Plenty  of  it." 

"  Then  I  shall  like  it." 

All  this  was  very  well,  but,  nevertheless,  this  talk 
made  the  enthusiastic  lady  a  little  uneasy.  It  was  true 
Olive  had  never  said  in  words  conclusively  whether  she 
would  go  or  not.  But  she  was  extremely  anxious  that 
her  father  should  go,  and  she  implicitly  followed  Mrs. 
Easterfield 's  directions  in  making  preparations  for 
him,  and  was  just  as  earnest  in  making  her  own ;  and 

349 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

her  friend  was  certainly  justified  in  thinking  all  this 
was  a  tacit  consent. 

As  for  the  two  captains,  they  were  so  delighted  at 
this  heavenly  prospect  that  they  gave  up  talking  about 
Dick  and  Olive,  and  read  guide-books  to  each  other, 
and  studied  maps,  and  sea-charts  until  their  brains 
were  nearly  addled.  They  were  a  source  of  great 
amusement  to  the  young  people  when  Dick  came  for 
his  frequent  short  visits. 

It  was  evident  to  all  interested  that  Professor 
Lancaster  approved  of  the  expedition,  for  he  entered 
heartily  into  all  the  talk  about  the  various  places  to  be 
visited,  and  all  that  was  to  be  done  on  the  vessel ;  and 
he  did  not  bore  them  with  any  lamentations  in  regard 
to  the  coming  separation  between  him  and  Olive. 
And,  of  course,  every  one  respected  his  feelings,  and 
said  nothing  to  him  about  it. 

The  weeks  went  by;  all  the  preparations  were 
made;  and  at  last  the  time  came  when  the  company 
were  to  assemble  at  the  toll-gate  and  Broadstone  before 
the  final  plunge  into  the  unknown.  Olive  wished  to 
have  them  all  to  dinner  on  the  first  day  of  this  short 
visit. 

"  Our  house  is  a  little  one,"  she  said  to  Mrs.  Eas- 
terfield,  * '  but  we  can  make  it  big  enough.  You  know 
nautical  people  understand  how  to  do  that.  What  a 
jolly  company  we  shall  have  !  You  know  Dick  wrill  be 
there." 

"  Yes,  poor  Dick!  "  sighed  Mrs.  Easterfield,  when 
Olive  had  left. 

The  Easterfields,  with  Lieutenant  Asher  and  his 
wife,  arrived  very  promptly  at  the  toll-gate  on  that 

350 


"IT    HAS    JUST    BEGUN!" 

important  day,  and  their  drive  through  the  bright, 
crisp  air  put  them  in  a  merry  mood.  They  had  hoped 
to  bring  Mr.  Locker,  but  he  had  not  arrived.  They 
found  two  captains  at  the  toll-gate  in  even  merrier 
mood.  Dick  Lancaster  was  there,  having  arrived  that 
morning,  and  they  were  none  of  them  surprised  that  he 
looked  serious.  The  ladies  were  not  immediately 
asked  to  go  up-stairs  to  remove  their  wraps,  for  Olive 
was  not  there  to  receive  them.  She  soon,  however, 
made  her  appearance  in  a  lovely  white  dress  that  had 
been  made  for  the  trip  under  Mrs.  Easterneld's  super 
vision.  Dick  Lancaster  immediately  got  up  from  his 
chair  and  joined  her ;  and  the  Reverend  Mr.  Faulkner 
appeared  from  some  mysterious  place,  and  the  aston 
ished  guests  were  treated  to  a  very  pretty  marriage 
ceremony. 

It  was  soon  over,  and  the  two  jolly  captains  laughed 
heartily  at  the  bewilderment  of  the  Broadstone  party. 
And  then  there  was  a  wild  time  of  hand-shaking  and 
congratulations  and  embracing.  By  his  wife 's  orders, 
Mr.  Tom  kissed  Olive,  which  seemed  perfectly  proper 
to  everybody  except  Mrs.  Lieutenant  Asher.  She  was 
also  a  young  bride,  with  no  similar  experiences. 

Later,  when  all  were  composed,  Olive  explained. 
"  What  has  happened  just  now  is  all  on  account  of 
Mr.  Easterfield's  invitation.  I  wrote  immediately  to 
Dick,  and  we  settled  it  between  us  that  he  would  ask 
for  a  vacation — they  always  give  vacations  when  pro 
fessors  are  married,  and  he  knew  of  some  one  to  take 
his  place — and  then  we  would  be  married,  and  ask  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Easterfield  to  invite  us  to  take  our  wedding 
trip  with  them.  Dick  had  to  stay  at  the  college  until 

351 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

the  last  minute  almost,  and  so  we  didn't  say  anything 
about  the  wedding  —  and  we  were  both  afraid  of  —  well, 
we  don't  like  a  fuss  —  and  so  we  planned  this.  And 
when  Dick  came  he  brought  the  license  and  Mr.  Faulk 
ner.  "  And  now  I  don't  see  how  Mr.  Easterfield  can 
help  inviting  us." 

Mr.  Easterfield  was  standing  by  his  wife,  and  as 
Olive  finished  her  explanation  he  took  his  wife's  hand 
and  gave  it  a  gentle  squeeze  of  sympathy;  and  that 
heroic  woman  never  flinched  ;  nor  did  she  ever  say  one 
word  about  that  pretty  wedding  she  had  planned  for 
the  spring. 

They  had  all  nearly  finished  the  fried  chicken  with 
white  sauce,  when  Claude  Locker  arrived.  He  had 
missed  the  regular  train  and  had  come  on  a  freight; 
had  got  a  horse  when  he  reached  Broadstone. 

*  '  I  am  more  tired  than  if  I  had  walked,  '  '  he  grum 
bled.     "  I  am  always  in  bad  luck!     I  am  an  unlucky 
dog!     But  you  are  so  good  you  will  excuse  me,  Miss 
Asher." 

*  '  That  is  not  my  name,  '  '  said  Olive  gravely. 
And  with  both  eyes  of  the  same  size,  Mr.  Locker 

looked  around,  wondering  why  everybody  was  laugh 
ing. 

"  Let  me  introduce  Mrs.  Lancaster,"  said  Dick 
with  a  bow. 

I  '  Do  you  mean,  '  '  cried  Locker,  starting  up,  '  *  that 
this  thing  is  really  done  ?  '  ! 

II  No,"  said  Olive.     "  It  has  just  begun." 


THE   END 


A   BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   LIST   OF   THE 
WRITINGS  OF  MR.  STOCKTON 


1.  A    NORTHERN    VOICE    FOR    THE    DISSOLUTION 

OF   THE    UNION.     8vo.     [New  York,  printed  for 
the  author,]  1861. 

Apparently  his  first  publication,  unknown  to  all  bibliograph 
ical  writers.  It  was  printed,  it  is  said,  in  the  spring  of  1861, 
and  is  referred  to  as  "an  attempt  to  avert  the  impending 
conflict  between  the  States  by  suggesting  a  form  of  com 
promise."  The  title,  as  printed  above,  is  taken  from  Sabin's 
"Dictionary  of  Books  relating  to  America,"  where  the  date 
of  the  pamphlet  is  given  as  1860,  though  [1861  ?]  is  suggested 
as  a  substitute  date.  In  1862  appeared  in  Philadelphia  the 
"Poems,  with  Autobiographic  and  Other  Notes"  of  his  half 
brother,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hewlings  Stockton  [1808-1868],  a 
Methodist  clergyman  famous  for  his  eloquence,  chaplain  to 
both  houses  of  Congress  successively.  All  but  one  of  the 
woodcuts  in  this  volume  of  poems  were  engraved  by  F.  R. 
Stockton  and  signed  by  him  with  initials. 

2.  TING-A-LING.      Illustrated  by  E.    B.    Bensell.      12mo.f 

pp.  4,  187.     New  York,  Hurd  &  Houghton,  1870. 

Four  original  fairy  tales,  first  printed  in  1869  in  "The 
Riverside  Magazine."  In  September,  1882,  the  book  was 
reissued  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  and  is  now  known  as 
"The  Ting-a-Ling  Tales." 

353 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

3.  ROUNDABOUT    RAMBLES     IN     LANDS    OF    FACT 

AND  FANCY.     Illustrated.     4to.,  pp.  4,  368.     New 
York,  Scribner,  Armstrong  &  Co.,  1872. 

4.  THE  HOME.  WHERE  IT  SHOULD  BE  AND  WHAT 

TO  PUT  IN  IT.     12mo.,  pp.  182.     New  York,  G.  P. 
Putnam's  Sons,  1872. 
Written  in  collaboration  with  Mrs.  Stockton. 

5.  WHAT  MIGHT   HAVE   BEEN    EXPECTED.      A  Book 

for  Young  People.     Illustrated.     12mo.     New  York, 
Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  1874. 

6.  TALES  OUT  OF  SCHOOL.     Illustrated.     4to.,  pp.  8,  325. 

New  York,  Scribner,  Armstrong  &  Co.,  1875. 

7.  RUDDER   GRANGE.      Illustrated.      12mo.,   pp.    8,   292. 

New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1879. 
The  first  edition  in  book  form  of  this  humorous  masterpiece 
appeared  in  April,  1879.  The  illustrations  used  were  from 
"  Scribner's  Monthly,"  where  "  Rudder  Grange  "  was  printed 
November,  1874,  "The  Girl  at  Rudder  Grange"  July,  1875, 
"The  New  Rudder  Grange"  February,  1878,  "Camping 
Out  at  Rudder  Grange"  May,  1878,  "Pomona  Takes  the 
Helm  at  Rudder  Grange  "  July,  1878,  and  "  Pomona's  Bridal 
Trip  "  March,  1879.  In  1885  appeared  the  first  issue  of  the 
book  with  the  well-known  illustrations  by  A.  B.  Frost. 

8.  A  JOLLY  FELLOWSHIP.     Illustrated.     12mo.,  pp.  12, 

298.     New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1880. 

9.  THE     FLOATING     PRINCE    AND     OTHER    FAIRY 

TALES.     Illustrated.     4to.,  pp.  8,  199.     New  York, 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1881. 

10.   THE  TRANSFERRED    GHOST.     16mo.,  pp.  [17.]    New 

York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1884. 

The  first  tale  in  Vol.  II  of  "  Stories  by  American  Authors." 
354 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

11.  THE    LADY    OR    THE    TIGER?   AND    OTHER    STO 

RIES.     12mo.,  pp.  6,  201.     New  York,  Charles  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons,  1884. 

"The  Lady  or  the  Tiger?"  was  first  published  in  "The 
Century,"  November,  1882. 

12.  THE  STORY  OF  VITEAU.     Illustrated  by  R.  B.  Birch. 

12ino.,   pp.    8,   193.      New  York,   Charles  Scribner's 
Sons,  1884. 

13.  THE  CASTING  AWAY  OF  MRS.  LECKS  AND  MRS. 

ALESHINE.     12mo.,  pp.  130.    New  York,  The  Cen 
tury  Co.,  [1886.] 
First  printed  in  "  The  Century." 

14.  THE    LATE    MRS.    NULL.      12mo.,    pp.   4,   437.      New 

York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1886. 

15.  THE    CHRISTMAS  WRECK  AND  OTHER  STORIES. 

12mo.,    pp.    6,    242.     New  York,   Charles  Scribner's 

Sons,  1886. 

Issued  in  September,  1886,  as  the  "Second  Series"  of  short 
stories  by  Stockton,  the  "  First  Series,"  issued  at  the  same 
time,  being  "The  Lady  or  the  Tiger?  and  other  Stories " 
(a  reissue  of  No.  11). 

16.  THE    HUNDREDTH    MAN.      12mo.,   pp.   2,   432.     New 

York,  The  Century  Co.,  [1887.] 
First  printed  in  "  The  Century." 

17.  THE    BEE-MAN   OF   ORN  AND  OTHER  FANCIFUL 

TALES.      12mo.,    pp.    4,    193.      New  York,    Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  1887. 

18.  AMOS    KILBRIGHT:    HIS    ADSCITITIOUS    EXPERI 

ENCES,   WITH  OTHER  STORIES.     12mo.,  pp.  6, 
146.     New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1888. 
"  Amos  Kilbright "  first  appeared  in  "America  "  April,  1888. 
355 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

19.  THE  DUSANTES.     12mo.,  pp.  150.     New  York,  The  Cen 

tury  Co.,  [1888.] 

Sequel  to   "The   Casting   Away  of  Mrs.   Leeks  and   Mrs. 
Aleshine."     First  printed  in  "  The  Century." 

20.  PERSONALLY  CONDUCTED.     Illustrated  by  Pennell, 

Parsons  and  others.     Square  8vo.,  pp.  10,  240.     New 
York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1889. 

21.  THE  GREAT  WAR  SYNDICATE.     12mo.     New  York, 

Peter  F.  Collier,  [1889.] 

22.  THE  STORIES  OF  THE  THREE  BURGLARS.     12mo. 

New  York,  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  [1890.] 

23.  ARDIS  CLAVERDEN.     12mo.,   pp.    2,  498.     New  York, 

Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  [1890.] 
Reissued  in  1894  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

24.  THE    MERRY    CHANTER.     Illustrated.     12mo.,   pp.   2, 

192.     New  York,  The  Century  Co.,  1890. 
First  printed  in  "  The  Century." 

25.  THE  HOUSE  OF  MARTHA.     12mo.,  pp.  6,  375.     Bos 

ton,  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  1891. 

First  printed  in    "The   Atlantic  Monthly."     Reissued  in 
1897  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

26.  THE  RUDDER  GRANGERS  ABROAD  AND  OTHER 

STORIES.     12mo.,  pp.  6,  195.     New  York,  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  1891. 

27.  THE  SQUIRREL  INN.     Illustrated.     12mo.,  pp.  10,  222. 

New  York,  The  Century  Co.,  1891. 
First  printed  in  "  The  Century." 

28.  ELEVEN  POSSIBLE  CASES.     12mo.    New  York,  Cassell 

Publishing  Co.,  [1891.] 
Written  with  others. 

356 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

29.  THE    CLOCKS    OF    RONDAINE    AND    OTHER   STO 

RIES.  Illustrated  by  Blashfield,  Birch  and  others. 
Square  8vo.,  pp.  10,  171.  New  York,  Charles  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons,  1892. 

30.  THE    WATCHMAKER'S    WIFE    AND    OTHER    STO 

RIES.  12mo.,  pp.  6,  225.  New  York,  Charles  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons,  1893. 

31.  FANCIFUL  TALES.     Edited  with  Notes  for  Schools  by 

Julia  E.  Langworthy.  With  an  Introduction  by 
Mary  E.  Burt.  12mo.,  pp.  14,  135.  New  York, 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1894. 

Selected  chiefly  from    "  The  Bee-Man  of  Orn  and    other 

Stories." 

32.  POMONA'S  TRAVELS.     A  Series  of  Letters  to  the  Mis 

tress  of  Rudder  Grange  from  her  Former  Hand 
maiden.  Illustrated  by  A.  B.  Frost.  12mo.,  pp. 
12,  275.  New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  [1894.] 

33.  THE   ADVENTURES    OF    CAPTAIN    HORN.      12mo., 

pp.  8,  404.     New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1895. 

34.  A  CHOSEN  FEW.     Short  Stories.     With  an  Etched  Por 

trait   by  Bicknell.     16mo.,    pp.   8,   240.     New  York, 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1895. 

These  tales  were  selected  by  the  author  as  being  representa 
tive  of  his  most  characteristic  work. 

35.  MRS.    CLIFF'S    YACHT.      Illustrated    by  A.    Forestier. 

12mo.,   pp.    8,    314.     New  York,    Charles  Scribner's 

Sons,  1896. 

First  printed  in  "The  Cosmopolitan."  The  illustrations 
did  not  appear  in  the  magazine. 

36.  STORIES    OF    NEW   JERSEY.     12mo.,    pp.    254.     New 

York,  American  Book  Co.,  1896. 

Issued  the  same  year  by  D.  Appleton  and  Company  under 
the  title  of  "  New  Jersey:  From  the  Discovery  of  Scheyichbi 
to  Recent  Times." 

357 


THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE 

37.  A    STORY    TELLER'S    PACK.     Illustrated    by    Newell, 

Smedley,  Small  and  others.  12mo.,  pp.  10,  380.  New 
York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1897. 

38.  CAPTAIN  CHAP;   OR,  THE  ROLLING  STONES.     II 

lustrated  by  Charles  H.   Stephens.     12mo.,  pp.  298. 
Philadelphia,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co.,  1897. 
Issued  serially  in  1882. 

39.  THE  GIRL  AT  COBHURST.     12mo.,  pp.  8,  408.     New 

York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1898. 

40.  THE    GREAT    STONE    OF    SARDIS.      Illustrated    by 

Newell,  8vo.,  pp.  7,  230.  New  York,  Harper  & 
Bros.,  1898. 

41.  BUCCANEERS  AND  PIRATES  OF  OUR  COAST.     Il 

lustrated  by  G.  Varian  and  B.  West  Clinedinst. 
12mo.,  pp.  6,  325.  New  York,  The  Macmillan  Co., 

1898. 

42.  THE    ASSOCIATE    HERMITS.       Illustrated    by    Frost. 

8vo.,  pp.  4,  257.     New  York,  Harper  &  Bros.,  1899. 

43.  THE    VIZIER    OF    THE    TWO-HORNED    ALEXAN 

DER.     Illustrated    by    Birch.     16mo.,    pp.    6,    235. 
New  York,  The  Century  Co.,  1899. 
First  printed  in  "The  Century." 

44.  THE    YOUNG    MASTER    OF   HYSON    HALL.      Illus 

trated  by  Virginia  H.  Davisson  and  C.  H.  Stephens, 
12mo.,  pp.  287.  Philadelphia,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co., 
1899. 

Issued  serially  in  1882  under  the  title  of  "  Philip  Berkeley; 

Or,  The  Master's  Gun." 

45.  A  BICYCLE  OF  CATHAY.     Illustrated  by  Orson  Lowell. 

8vo.,  pp.  6,  240.     New  York,  Harper  &  Bros.,  1900. 

46.  AFIELD    AND    AFLOAT.     Stories.     Illustrated.     12mo., 

pp.  14,  422.     New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1900. 
358 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

47.  NOVELS  AND  STORIES.     Shenandoah  Edition.     23  Vol 

umes,    8vo.     New    York,    Charles    Scribner's    Sons, 

1899 .      The  only  uniform  and  complete  edition  of 

Mr.  Stockton's  writings.  Two  volumes  at  this  writing 
(May,  1903)  remain  to  be  issued. 

48.  KATE    BONNET:    THE    ROMANCE  OF  A  PIRATE'S 

DAUGHTER.  12mo.,  pp.  8,  420.  New  York,  D. 
Appleton  and  Company,  1902. 

49.  JOHN    GAYTHER'S    GARDEN  AND    THE    STORIES 

TOLD  THEREIN.  Illustrated.  12mo.,  pp.  8,  365. 
New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1902. 

50.  THE    CAPTAIN'S    TOLL-GATE.      With   a   Memoir,   by 

Mrs.  Stockton  ;  an  Etched  Portrait  of  the  Author  and 
Views  of  his  Homes,  and  a  Bibliographical  List  of  his 
Writings.  12mo.,  pp.  xxxii-359.  New  York,  D.  Ap 
pleton  and  Company,  1903. 

LARGE  PAPER  EDITION.     Limited  to  150  numbered  copies. 

Memoirs  autographed  by  Mrs.  Stockton.     Portrait  with  Mr. 

Stockton's  autograph  attached. 


(D 


359 


By  FRANK  R  STOCKTON 

TWENTIETH  THOUSAND 

Kate  Bonnet 

The  Romance  of  a  Pirate's  Daughter.  By 
FRANK  R.  STOCKTON.  Illustrated  by  A.  I. 
Keller  and  H.  S.  Potter.  12 mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  A  capital  story." — London  Times. 

"  A  rattling  good  story." — New  York  Sun. 

"  A  sweet  and  charming  story." — Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  A  delightfully  cheerful  book."— New  York  Tribune. 

"  Most  ludicrous  story  of  the  year." — New  York  Journal. 

"Just  the  book  to  make  a  dull  day  bright." — Baltimore  Sun. 

"One  of  Stockton's  most  delicious  creations." — Boston  Budget. 

"A  live,  wide-awake,  bold,  hesitate-at-nothing  story. "-Boston  Herald. 

41  A  bright  and  entertaining  tale  full  of  exciting  incident." — London 
Athenceum. 

"  A  characteristic  blending  of  interesting  realism  and  absurdity." — 
New  York  Life. 

"  Full  of  love,  incident,  adventure,  and  true  Stocktonian  humor." — 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  American. 

"  Even  with   the  charming  heroine   in   tears,   the    reader  remains 
cheerful." — New  York  Outlook. 

"  Nothing  so  fresh,  picturesque,  and  amusing  has  been  presented  for 
a  long  time." — New  York  Press. 

"  A   story  of  adventure  written    in    Mr.    Stockton's    characteristic 
vein." — New  York  Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  The  funniest  part  of  the  story  is  the  serene  gravity  with  which  the 
author  chronicles  events." — San  Francisco  Argonaut. 

"  The  appearance  of  a  new  book  by  Frank  Stockton  stirs  one  to  an 
agreeable  flicker  of  anticipation." — New  York  Literary  Digest. 

"  It  is  charming,  and  no  one  but  Mr.  Stockton  could  have  written 
it." — JULIAN  HAWTHORNE,  in  the  Minneapolis  Tribune. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW     YORK. 


A  New  Novel  by  the  Author  of 

44 THE  SILENCE  OF  DEAN  MAITLAND." 
Richard  Rosny. 

By  MAXWELL  GRAY.  Frontispiece.  i2mo.  Cloth, 
$1.50- 

"  Shows  masterly  and  artistic  work." — Buffalo  Commercial. 

"  Dignified,  earnest,  and  thoughtfully  written."  —  Indianapolis 
News. 

"  The  mystery  of  the  plot  is  the  principal  charm." — Brooklyn 
Eagle. 

"  The  book  is  full  of  action,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  find  anything 
dull  in  the  whole  story." — Worcester  Spy, 

"  Of  more  than  usual  interest  and  strength,  and  in  the  psycho 
logical  study  of  character  it  is  very  strong." — St.  Paul  Despatch. 

"  It  is  a  dramatic  and  absorbing  novel,  and  one  that  will  be  widely 
read.  There  is  some  excellent  character  drawing  in  it,  all  the  prin 
cipal  people  are  vital,  and  the  interest  is  well  sustained." — St.  Louis 
Republic. 

"'Richard  Rosny'  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  good  story. 
There  is  no  fine  writing,  but  the  unfolding  of  the  plot  is  clearly  done, 
and  the  characters  are  not  hidden  in  a  mist  of  sentiment  and  words." 
Lincoln  (AW;.)  Star. 

"  That  '  Richard  Rosny '  will  make  a  marked  success  is  a  foregone 
conclusion,  its  appeal  to  human  hearts  being  so  strong  that  the  book 
will  prove  irresistible  in  its  demand  for  more  than  one  reading." — 
Providence  Telegram. 

D .     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW     YORK. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


MAR   20  193t 

MAY  9   1947 

fran'53JK/, 

7  £± 

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vfc.CD  LD 

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LD  21-95»i  7/37 

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